


Experience Is Everything

by DAsObiQuiet



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: A More Mature Way Of Seeing Things, Allies, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emotional, Emotional Healing, Emotional Therapy, F/M, Gen, Healthy Relationships, Less Violence More Talking, Making Allies, Mental Healing, Mental Health Issues, Minor Violence, Mutual Agreements, Mutual Discussions, Negotiations, Pseudoscience, Psychologists & Psychiatrists, Psychology, Talk it out, Talking is HEALTHY people, Therapy, Thoughtful Approach, Time Shenanigans, Time Travel, Walk Two Moons In Another Man's Shoes, What-If, discussions, making alliances, thoughtful
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-01-05 14:18:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 23
Words: 117,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21209942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DAsObiQuiet/pseuds/DAsObiQuiet
Summary: Dire consequences come from ignoring Clockwork's warnings. Usually, 29-year-old Danny Fenton triesvery hardto heed them, but if it comes down to listening or saving someone, well... he's never been a stranger to sacrifice. Of course, he didn't expect to end up 15 years in the pastinsidehis teen-aged body just after he first gained his powers. Time-travel isn't even supposed to work like that! Of course, he'd be the one who somehow found a waybreaktime.





	1. The Warning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kuroi_atropos](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuroi_atropos/gifts).

It had been a long time since a ghost had shown up out of the blue anywhere around Daniel Fenton. For the most part, Danny had reached such a level of fame and notoriety that very few ghosts dared to venture through the portal and into the real world via Amity Park. And if they did, they would usually send a message through someone Danny knew first. He wasn't sure if that was out of fear or respect, but he hoped it was the latter.

Thus, when his ghost sense went off suddenly on a random Tuesday morning, Danny found himself genuinely curious as to who it could be. He honestly expected Skulker (if any ghost _would _show up, he was a likely candidate as he still popped in every now and then, insisting on a good fight and hunt) or Dora. Heck, even Frostbite, despite the fact that he rarely left the Far Frozen.

For some reason, Danny didn't expect the ghost he saw (although he really should have) floating in the middle of his otherwise extremely normal living room, in his perfectly average, non-ghost or ghost-hunting related apartment. The ghost, for all he was friendly and definitely someone Danny looked up to, stuck out rather obviously in the comfortable little space the black-haired man had rented for college. With a fair amount of bulk, red, glowing eyes, and a clock tower embedded in his chest, Clockwork's adult form cut a far more imposing figure than anyone who had ever really graced the space before.

Maybe if this had been his parents' old house it wouldn't have looked so odd, but the half-ghost's apartment had been done up in tasteful and calming earth tones by the interior decorator that was constantly having to redo his parents new corporate offices every time they blew up a wall inventing something. (Danny personally thought the guy had appreciated a _normal_ project for once, which was why he'd been given such a great deal.)

To his surprise, Clockwork shifted to his child-like form and grinned at him. "Does there have to be something wrong for me to drop by? I simply thought I would visit." Danny felt his eyes widen in surprise and something flashed across the ghost's face. Something he couldn't really define. Hesitancy, perhaps? It was out of place enough to make Danny blink for a moment, unsure if he'd actually seen anything.

"I thought that we could catch up," the old specter continued.

The dark-haired man crossed his arms and stared at the ghost he'd long considered his mentor suspiciously. "Clockwork, I know you know what's going on in my life. You're the master of time. We don't need to catch up."

Clockwork floated towards the ceiling, his hands behind his back, a far too innocent look on his childish face. "So I am not allowed to have a, what do you humans call it? A vacation?"

Danny's eyes narrowed. "Really?" He couldn't help it if his tone dripped with sarcasm.

The ghost sighed as he changed into his old-man form. "I'm not lying, Danny, but you're not entirely wrong either. However, I cannot tell you or it could—"

"I know, I know," the half-ghost cut in, annoyed, "it could ruin the future." He sighed and gestured for the ghost to follow him into his kitchen. "Let me get you a drink," he offered, before muttering to himself. "After I get me one..."

Clockwork changed to his adult form as he followed his young charge, one eyebrow raised. "I do not require your food for sustenance."

This time, Danny shot him a smirk over his shoulder. "Firstly, I always keep a couple of ectoplasmic options in the fridge, now. Skulker's dragged me out during enough truces that I've developed a taste for them. Besides, they're nice to have on hand if a ghost I'm on good terms with comes to visit. Secondly, most ghosts can eat human food, even if they don't need it. If you're here for a 'visit', then we can do it over a drink. What would you like?"

The purple and blue ghost just stared for several seconds.

"Oh, come on, it's not like you didn't know this was coming," Danny pressed as he opened the fridge.

"Daniel," Clockwork started, but the half-ghost cut him off.

"Danny. You know I hate it when people call me 'Daniel'." So maybe he was being a bit short, but he didn't exactly have the best memories of the times when Clockwork showed up like this.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the time ghost nod his head in apology. "Danny, I don't know every little detail of every single occurrence. If it has nothing to do with how the future changes, then I rarely take note of it."

Danny shrugged. "Green ectoplasm it is." The green one had this kind of burning kick that he felt the need to subject Clockwork to right now, rather then the smooth yellow one or the blue one that kind of tasted like frozen strawberries. He tended to stay away from the red stuff... that messed with his emotions too much.

He took out a green drink that had a bio-hazard symbol on it, walked to the cupboard and took out two glasses before pouring glowing green liquid into both cups. Then he set them on the small table in his modest kitchen, one in front of Clockwork, the other in front of the chair he was planning to sit at.

Clockwork raised one eyebrow in question as Danny put the container back in the fridge and reached for the cup. He noticed his mentor's expression and shrugged. "Bottom's up."

The man took a long sip, enjoying the burning sensation before he set it down on the table. The ancient ghost shook his head with a smile switching to his old man form as he took the offered seat across from his host. He also, much to Danny's amusement, picked up the drink and took a sip of it. The half-ghost waited for a moment, but got no reaction otherwise. Too bad, but not too unexpected.

"So," Danny said, "what would you like to talk about?"

"Straight to business? How unlike you, Danny."

"How unlike the old me," the half-ghost corrected. "The old me didn't know the meaning of the words 'day planner'. I don't think I could get through college without one at this point and my grades are actually decent for once. Time management and all that."

Clockwork chuckled and sipped his own drink. Much to Danny's consternation, he gave absolutely no reaction to it.

"Very well," the ghost changed forms to his adult self again. "I, of all people, can respect your time and will get directly to the point.

"Back when we first met, I didn't just randomly choose you of all ghosts and humans to help," Clockwork said as he took another sip of his drink.

The dark-haired man frowned. "I know. You did it to save the future."

"There were other reasons as well."

Danny's frown deepened. "Like what?"

"Firstly, your potential. You survived a far larger dose of ectoplasmic infusion than any other half-ghost in the world, and you are far more stable than any other half-ghost as well."

"There have only been two other half-ghosts in the world," Danny pointed out, taking another gulp of his drink.

"Until this point in your linear timeline, yes," Clockwork responded.

Danny spit out the ectoplasm, coughing. "Wait, there will be more? Others?! In the future? Is that what you're saying?"

The time ghost changed into his child form and just smiled but didn't answer. _Right_, Danny thought, _why am I surprised, again?_

"Secondly, while you are just as fallible as any other human, you have a good heart. You want to do good and that leaks over into your ghost form and has affected your obsession. It also affects other people and ghosts around you, more than you know. I didn't want to see that potential wasted, and as of right now, I haven't."

Silence fell over the room as Danny digested that. Then he smiled at the compliment as he rose to get a cloth to wipe up the ectoplasm on the table.

"Thanks, Clockwork. I guess I need to hear that sometimes."

Again, his mentor just nodded, although he had a soft smile on his adult-form face. When had he changed? Probably when Danny's back was turned.

"The fact that I was able to rub it in the Observants' faces has nothing to do with anything," the time ghost added on mischievously.

Danny snorted as he wiped the ectoplasm up and put it in the box marked for the bio-hazard. He would also put the cups in there for his parents to decontaminate later. He doubted any ectoplasm he actually washed down the sink would have any effect, but had learned the benefit of caution the hard way. The ectoplasm he kept in his apartment shouldn't actually _hurt_ anyone (he was actually very careful with what he brought out of the ghost zone), but he figured the less he actually contaminated, the better. Fewer incidents that way, in any case.

"There are a couple of other reasons, Danny, not the least of which is because you have a good support system. Your friends are loyal and your family, while oblivious at times, is supportive and loving."

Danny slid into his seat once more, eyes narrowing again. "You're getting at something."

Clockwork just shrugged, changing to his child-like form. "It's just something to keep in mind, and something that I noted and took into account when I decided to interfere in your life."

"You know, you say you don't really focus on unnecessary details, but I'd say that's what you've been focusing on for the entire conversation," the half-ghost said dryly.

The young-looking ghost shrugged. "I'll reiterate: I'm not omnipotent, Danny. A powerful ghost? Yes. I will admit that. But I am not, nor will I ever claim to be, a god, no matter what the ancient myths say."

Again, Danny snorted and took a sip of his drink, letting the ice-cold (and yet burning, no wonder he liked this thing) liquid slide down his throat and settle into his stomach. A couple of years ago, he wouldn't have been able to do that, but he'd gotten so accustomed to outside sources of ectoplasm that he actually craved them now.

"Your castle exists outside of time. You have all the time in the world to study whatever you could possibly imagine wanting to learn."

Clockwork just shook his head, turning back to his old form. "My castle does not exist outside of time. I live in this universe and in the linear time-stream just as you. I simply have access to the time-stream, on a far more basic level than you are suggesting even."

Danny blinked. "Really?" he asked. Clockwork's head bobbed in a nod. "I always figured it existed in multiple timelines and dimensions at once or something."

The ghost's wrinkled, blue skin stretched into an amused smile. "Not quite the way you're thinking."

"Then why can't I find it unless you want me to?"

Clockwork raised an eyebrow again. "There are other ways to keep a lair hidden in the Ghost Zone."

Danny considered that for a few moments before taking another sip of his drink. "Huh."

"So tell me, Danny, when was the last time you contacted your family?"

The black-haired man frowned at the non-sequitur, but didn't see a problem answering.

"I talked with Mom and Dad a couple of days ago, and I'll be seeing them in a couple of hours when I go to meet Frostbite. I also called Jazz last night and we talked for a good hour."

"She is doing well with her psychology practice?"

Danny grinned. "Yeah. In between the humans, ghosts, humans that want to be ghosts, and ghosts that want to be human her work calendar is pretty booked. Heck, she's even so equal opportunity that she has one guy that wants to be a chicken... But I'm sure you already knew that too."

Clockwork smirked for a moment before cocking his head. "And your friends?"

"I've been texting Tucker all day," Danny replied with a shrug.

"And Samantha?"

Awkward silence. "It's getting better. We're both working at it, but it's been... strained, since we broke up."

Clockwork nodded. "You should call her."

Danny sat back in his chair, leaving his cup on the table and folding his arms. "So that's what you're after? You want me to get on better terms with Sam? We've agreed to stay friends and she's still agreed to help me with ghosts when she's in town. I know she isn't avoiding visiting and she hasn't backed down from her word. I know it's been a while, but I figure I'll just have to give it time to find our new rhythm. We're not going to give up on each other, so I don't see why you're worried."

The Ancient ghost switched to his adult-form. "I still recommend you call her."

This time, Danny's frown gained a touch of worry. "A-alright," he said finally. "I will. Today, even. Before I go to meet Frostbite."

Clockwork looked pleased as he nodded.

"And Valerie?"

Danny blinked. "It's been... a couple of weeks. Seriously, Clockwork, what's going on?"

"You know I can't tell you."

"Why not?" the half-ghost asked in frustration. Clockwork just stared at him. Finally Danny took a deep breath. "Fine. I'll call her too. I'll even try and get a hold of Danielle."

"I'm sorry to worry you, Danny."

The young man sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I know you don't like to, but you wouldn't be here if you didn't think it was important."

"Indeed. You know me well."

"Really?" Danny asked. It was his turn to raise an eyebrow. "Somehow I think that despite knowing you for over a decade, I'm only scratching the surface."

They both shared a chuckle.

"It has been my honor to get to know you, Danny."

The half-ghost, who had been about to take another drink slowly lowered his glass to the table as he scrutinized his guest. His hand tightened around the cylinder just a touch.

"It sounds like you're going somewhere... or like I am."

Clockwork didn't answer.

"Clockwork..."

"Danny."

He had to stop himself from tightening his grip more. He didn't want to have to sweep up glass. Or pick it out of the wall. He'd had to learn to do some pretty annoying repairs the last time that had happened.

"I guess asking where would be futile." If he said it through clenched teeth, then who could blame him? No matter how vague Clockwork was failing at being, the when was pretty obvious at this point.

More silence.

"Do I even get a say in this?"

If he didn't know that Clockwork would just freeze time and move, he may have tried to punch him. He knew it would be like shooting the messenger, but the ghost could be _so utterly _frustrating at times. And there were some things he hadn't completely gotten over, even as an adult.

"What if I don't _want_ to go?"

"This is not something I have control over."

"You've fought the Observants before!"

The ghost changed into his ancient form as he shook his head. "It is not the Observants who have given me orders."

"Then whom?" Danny demanded.

"Who."

"What?"

"'Who' is the proper term."

"Thank you for the grammar lesson. I'm sure that's far more important than answering my actual question."

Clockwork raised an eyebrow as he smirked over at Danny. "That's the Danny I know."

The man frowned. He wasn't _that_ sarcastic. Then he shook his head. "I'm not letting you change the subject. Who told you you couldn't tell me?"

"You did."

Silence.

Danny blinked. "What?"

A sigh. "You did, Danny. Or, you will."

"In the future?"

Clockwork nodded.

Danny stared at his drink while he tried to wrap his mind around this.

"So... I..." Then he shook his head angrily. "No, I can't just _leave _everyone!"

"Technically, you're not going to. And that is the only thing I can tell you."

The young adult stood abruptly and began to pace. "So am I leaving or not?"

"Technically yes and no."

"You're not making any sense!"

"It will make sense in the future."

Danny scowled at his drink, blinking back angry tears. But he'd tried going against fate before, and he'd seen where that had gotten him. So he could fight it and make things worse for himself and everyone around him... or...

"I'm... not coming back, am I."

"Danny..."

"You wouldn't have said anything if I wasn't supposed to figure it out."

"That doesn't mean I can tell you anything else."

He felt like he'd been socked in the gut by Skulker's newest suit and couldn't help the look of betrayal he shot the timeless ghost as he stood. Then he turned and looked around the room at his apartment. He'd been wanting to get out on his own for a while and honestly, he really loved it. And his new life. Sure, things had changed, and hadn't worked out exactly like he'd wanted them to, but he was still pretty happy and content.

"Can I tell my family?"

"No."

"They'll... try to stop me."

"Yes."

"But... I have to go."

"It would... be best, according to you."

He grit his teeth again but pressed on. "Can I... write them letters? Explain everything?"

"Yes."

He nodded and deflated a little. At least he had that much. "Will you make sure they get them?"

"Yes."

"How long, exactly, do I have?"

"I can't tell you that."

Of course not, Danny felt his fists clench. Ghost Zone forbid that Clockwork give him specifics. Without a concrete time, Danny would need to rush all the calls with his family. Take care of everything like he only had moments rather than be able to properly plan how to say go...

Goodbye.

"Enough time to at least get a will or something together?" And if that will said something like 'Punch Clockwork in the Face,' then all the better.

Silence met his question.

The half-ghost sighed."I guess I'll just write something up while I'm trying to reach everyone." There were some websites he could check out, right?

"Do you have regrets, Danny?"

The ghost seemed to be full of non-sequiturs today. Danny shot him a frown. "Is there a human – or a ghost for that matter – who doesn't? Of course I do. I wish I could have kept my identity a secret for longer (you know how much I hate the spotlight) and I regret having to banish Vlad to space, and a bunch of things that happened with the ghosts, especially in those first few years. No one's life is perfect... but I've worked hard to make up for my mistakes. I can honestly say I'm happy where I am now."

He swallowed. "Do I really have to leave? I'm not going to die, am I?"

Clockwork shook his head. "No, you aren't going to die. Not any time soon in any case."

The half-ghost relaxed a little at that. "Oh. Well, that's good, I guess."

The Master of Time sighed. "I'm sorry, Danny. I've worried you. But, while I can't really help that, I... thought you would welcome-" Clockwork's head tilted in contemplation, "a chance to leave nothing unsaid."

Danny deflated. "Yeah. I... I may not feel it now, but I'm sure I'll appreciate it in the future." He knew himself that well at least.

Clockwork nodded. "You... will be missed, Danny," he whispered. He'd changed back into his old-man-form again, looking even more ancient than normal, and very sad.

The half-ghost couldn't really get many words past the lump in his throat for several seconds.

"Will... will you take care of them?" the young man finally managed, his voice soft as he stared out the window. "I know it's a lot to ask, but..."

"Of course I will."

Danny took a deep breath, feeling a weight lift off of his chest, "Thank you."

"I will... leave you to make your preparations."

Danny nodded, unable to turn and watch the ghost leave. He did, however, feel his resentment flowing away. Clockwork had come and warned him as best he could. It wasn't his fault that Danny was leaving. He could have just not said anything and let Danny run into whatever he would run into on his own.

"Thank you," he said again, his voice quieter and harsher than it had been. He voiced it before Clockwork could get far and practically felt the time-ghost pause. "I know... you did what you could."

"You are welcome, Daniel Fenton."

He managed a sad grin. "I just told you, it's Danny."

A chuckle. "Good luck."

And he left Danny alone.

xXx

Danny wrote one main letter explaining everything Clockwork had told him, wanting to make sure that that was taken care of first and foremost. He wasn't about to leave without an explanation at all.

Once he finished with that, he looked over some of the sites for submitting wills online. Figuring that he could write that up while he talked to people, he decided to call Sam first.

Thankfully, she answered after several rings sounding surprised but not unhappy. He forced himself to talk to her as if things were normal between them again and found it getting easier as the call went on. He could tell she appreciated the effort. It took every ounce of self-control he possessed to keep tears at bay because awkward or not, he still didn't want to leave her behind. They talked about everything and nothing, with Danny asking little questions here and there, writing down the answers in the word document he'd pulled up to take notes on. By the time the call finished, he felt both better and worse: better about their relationship and worse about having to leave it behind.

The moment they hung up, he finally allowed himself to cry. Not long or hard, but very sincerely. Not just for her, but for everyone.

Once he got hold of himself, he called Tucker. They didn't have a whole lot to talk about these days, but it was nice to hear his voice nonetheless. He encouraged Tucker to do everything he wanted to do – to follow his dreams and all. Tucker had gotten more into politics since he'd become mayor (and he wasn't the only one who still couldn't believe that the town had wanted a 15-year-old to be mayor, even if he'd had close ties to the world's hero at the time). But despite all of that, it wasn't Tucker's passion. That would always lay with inventing new tech, which he'd only just recently gotten back into.

His throat didn't feel quite so tight when he hung up.

Next were his parents. He was going to see them tonight, but that didn't mean he couldn't check in with them for a minute and let them know he was still coming. As usual, they didn't have a lot of time to talk, but they always took a moment to answer his calls unless they were in the middle of something really volatile. Fortunately, they weren't now and his mother picked up the phone with a bright smile he could practically hear. His father's voice boomed over the line shortly afterwards.

He seriously considered telling them despite the warning he'd gotten, his mom especially... but he'd learned the hard way that not listening to Clockwork tended to turn out badly. He figured she could tell something was up, but she didn't press it. He told his dad how proud he was of him and his father, of course, ate it up. He always did with any sort of praise he received. Danny made sure to tell them how much he loved them and appreciated everything they did and let them know he'd be on his way soon.

After them, he called Jazz, who immediately wanted to know what was wrong. Danny never called her two days in a row. He chuckled and said he just wanted to follow up on their conversation from the day before. Again, they didn't have much to talk about that they hadn't already discussed, and Danny as much as he wanted to, didn't dare ask any 'theoretical' questions for fear that she'd figure everything out. He'd just have to take a guess with her when it came to his will.

Sadly, she had a client in a few minutes and had to hang up fairly quickly. Danny felt a pang of regret for that, but wished her luck and let her go.

Valerie was next, and he traded banter with her as he asked after her life. He didn't really get into anything deep with her, but he did let her know that he saw her as a valuable friend and ally, and he was glad they'd gotten over their differences. Well, mostly.

Part of him really wished they could have a close relationship like he shared with Tucker and Sam, but part of him was just as glad he didn't. It was easier to let go right now.

Then he tried to get a hold of Danielle and was almost relieved (and a little guilty) when he couldn't. He made a mental note to leave an apology in her personal letter for not being able to reach her.

After that, he went about finishing submitting his will, surprised that it shouldn't take that long to go through (apparently, you could get the things taken care of online pretty fast these days, who knew?). Despite his rather dangerous life as a child, he hadn't ever gotten around to making one. Perhaps he'd never thought he'd actually die? Part of that could be due to typical teenager stupidity, and part of that was undoubtedly due to the fact that he still wasn't sure if he _could_ die in the normal sense. No one had ever been able to give him any answers either. Not even Clockwork (not that he would even if he knew).

While he was glad the ghost had told him he wasn't about to die, he still could not figure out where he'd be going and why he couldn't come back. Or any of Clockwork's other annoying clues.

Danny felt his stomach clench.

He swallowed the feeling and continued writing. Once he finished that, he canceled all of his future appointments so as not to leave a mess behind for his family to clean up. After that, he focused on making a few finishing touches to the personal letters and notes he wanted to leave for everyone. He'd made some friends in college and didn't want them to feel left out. He even left a note for the important ghosts in his life as well as a statement for the media, figuring Jazz and Tucker would go through his things and give the public what they needed to hear.

Then he folded his last load of laundry and did his dishes so his Mom or Jazz wouldn't need to.

He'd considered canceling his appointment with Frostbite, but wouldn't be able to get a hold of the ghost until he went over to his parents' anyway and figured he may as well go. If he ended up leaving before then (even if he didn't see how that was possible), then he was sure his parents would let the Far Frozen know, even if they were still uncomfortable when contacting ghosts.

Then he grabbed the bag of contaminated items, turned and walked out of his apartment, making sure to take his key with him so he could leave it at his parents' house. Then he transformed and made the ten minute flight to see his mother and father, who welcomed him happily.

They enjoyed a meal together, just the three of them, before he gave them a hug and left for the Far Frozen. If he held onto the hug for a few seconds longer than normal, they didn't seem to notice.

xXx

As strange and alien as it was, the Ghost Zone had become almost a second home to him. He knew the immediate area on the other side of the portal like the back of his hand and most of the areas around it rather well too. He didn't know how far it stretched on in either direction, but he knew he could travel for days and not reach an end. He wasn't sure there _was _an actual end to it all (Frostbite's insistence on infinite realms may have had something to do with that conclusion as well).

He reached the Far Frozen without incident, happy to meet with the yeti tribe leader and even joining them for one of their traditional meals, even if he couldn't eat much due to his already full stomach.

The old ghost could tell there was something wrong, Danny knew, but he thankfully didn't ask. Instead they spoke of new changes in the Ghost Zone. Apparently Walker was finally coming around and being far fairer about his sentencing. He still had a long way to go before Danny could really support him, but any positive change to a ghost was leaps and bounds of improvement that should be encouraged.

Dora, Pandora and Frostbite had finalized a formation of their alliance. Between the three of them, they did their best to represent and speak for the Ghost Zone to the humans and relations had been improving lately. Well, the government didn't seem to want to come in and destroy everything anymore in any case. The dissolving of the GIW several years ago probably had something to do with that.

As the discussion wound down, Danny decided he was grateful he'd made it to this meeting. He felt a little better about disappearing on everyone now. Almost everything he'd been working on was in the best possible condition for him to leave it. Sure, things weren't perfect, and he really hoped that everything didn't fall apart without him there, but he didn't think he could do much better at this point.

Stupid hero complex. He'd just have to trust in everyone to pull their weight without him there.

When he went to leave, Frostbite also gave Danny a hug, as awkward as it tended to be wen he did. The ice ghost still dwarfed him. He'd just drifted into the air and was about to head back towards his parents' when one of the tribe rushed over worriedly.

"Chief, Great One! Please! My son!"

Frostbite turned to the worried yeti, holding his hands up in an attempt to calm her down.

"What's wrong?"

"He ran off while playing! I just turned my back for a moment and now he's caught at the edge of The Rift!"

Danny frowned. "Rift? What rift?"

"A very dangerous place, Great One," Frostbite said gravely. "It is an area where a chasm of unknown origin and power will open randomly and draw nearby objects into it before vanishing. We do not know where it leads, but anything drawn into it is never seen or heard from again."

The half-ghost swore he felt his face pale and he swallowed. Was this it? Was this what Clockwork had been hinting at?

"Please! Help me save my son!" the yeti begged them.

Frostbite glanced at Danny. "Will you come and help us?"

Dread pooled at the bottom of his stomach and part of Danny wanted to scream 'no!' at the top of his lungs, like the teenager he used to be. The other part of him – the part that would _always_ be a hero – wouldn't let him say anything other than, "Of course."

"Thank you," Frostbite said with a nod before turning to the woman. "Let me gather the tribe."

"I'll go with you now," Danny said to the mother. "Maybe there's something I can do."

"Don't be reckless," Frostbite warned.

Danny blinked at him and then forced a smile. "Who, me?"

For several seconds, the ghost just stared at him before shaking his head and gesturing with his hand. "Hurry. In case something happens before I can get everyone there."

The two of them nodded before they turned and flew off, the other yeti in the lead.

xXx

In all honesty, Danny was surprised he'd never been to this part of the Ghost Zone before. Then again, the yeti had always warned him off of this general direction. Well, now he knew why, it seemed.

As they approached the area where the boy was lost (or trapped, or whatever, the mother hadn't been too clear on that), the whole atmosphere... changed. He wasn't even sure how or why, but it was strange to say the least. There was also a slight tug of wind, which he found unnerving. The Ghost Zone didn't really have wind normally, but the moving air picked up more and more the further they flew.

"Where is he?" Danny yelled over the sound of the air streaming around them.

"There!" the yeti yelled back, pointing at the small form of a child clinging onto a large island that was slowly floating towards what appeared to be a giant, black crack ripping across the Ghost Zone.

"We have to get him out of there!" Danny shouted. "If we don't act now, the whole rock could be drawn in along with him!"

"But Chief said—"

"Frostbite sent me to help in case something happened before he could get here! I think this counts!"

The woman shook her furry head. "I can't let you do that for me! We should wait for the rest—"

"I'm doing it for him!" he pointed towards the little yeti.

She seemed taken back for a moment, but then her shoulders slumped.

"Thank you, Great One!" she said. "What is your plan?"

His teenage self would have just zipped in there as quickly as he could, hoping to get in and out as fast as possible. Sometimes he wondered how his teenage self hadn't been completely obliterated.

"I'll make as many duplicates as I can, he said. "We'll try and find an anchor on the other side of the island. Hopefully that will give us the protection we need. Come on!"

He flew over to a point where the floating island of ectoplasmic rock was between him and the crack before flying forward. The pull was indeed lessened by rock, thank goodness. The yeti woman followed him.

"I'll find a place to anchor myself. You make your duplicates," she said in a matter-of-fact voice that brooked no argument. Danny just nodded and focused on making as many ectoplasmic clones as he possibly could and ended up with six. Not as many as he'd like, but not too bad either. He hoped it would be enough.

Then he nodded at the yeti (he still hadn't gotten her name and made a mental note to ask her later) before jumping into the air. She grabbed onto his feet and held him firmly in place, reaching her large arms over her head to their full extent. Danny's clones flew above him, creating a chain of ghosts that went over the top of the small rock-island. He could feel the pull on his duplicates as they climbed, within reach of the Rift's pull.

"We can't reach him," the one above him said after a few minutes.

Danny bit his lip and looked down at the yeti below him. "It's not enough. We'll have to move higher!"

The woman didn't look too happy herself, but she nodded and let go of the handhold she'd found. Almost immediately, the force of the pull on the duplicates very nearly sucked them all over, but she managed to grab onto the rock again with one hand and then her feet braced just below it.

A few minutes later, the duplicate looked down with a grin. "Got 'im!"

"Have him climb over everyone to get back here!"

The duplicate nodded, and then they waited, clutching at each other and listening for the tell-tale signs of the kid coming to them. He supposed that pulling the clones back one at a time might work, but that would be awkward and they'd lose precious time trying to figure out exactly how. Not to mention, he didn't want to let even one hand go to try and pull the others in. He could still feel the increasing pull on the duplicates and—

"NO!" one of the clones yelled out, just loud enough for Danny to hear.

"What's wrong?"

"We lost him! He's getting dragged into the Rift!"

Danny felt his blood freeze, and it had nothing to do with his ice powers.

"Go after him!" he yelled to the duplicate and let him go. His white-haired mirror nodded as he and the others were dragged away.

"What happened, Great One?" the yeti he was with asked worriedly.

He took a deep breath and held her wrists gently, looking straight into her eyes. "He lost his grip or something. Don't worry, I'll get him."

"NO!" she grabbed his hand. "You sent your duplicates out there! That should be enough!"

He shook his head. "They might be able to help, but they aren't as durable as I am. If they're damaged enough, they disappear."

She shook her head again. "I cannot ask this of you!"

Danny smiled. "You didn't. I offered."

For a moment, he saw a grief and gratefulness come over her eyes before she let go. With a nod, he flew up and over the rock-island, immediately getting caught in the wind. He didn't fight it, instead using it to head towards the spinning debris in front of him. Surely enough, there were only two clones left. One of them held the little yeti against his chest, and both of them were doing their best to fight the pull of the rift. Considering that he'd clocked himself at almost 200 miles per hour, that was no small feat.

He reached them in almost no time, watching in horror as the one holding the yeti boy tried to avoid some debris, but couldn't. He dropped the boy just before he ran into some sharp, nasty-looking rocks and dissipated into green smoke, easily swept away by the wind. He didn't get duplicate's memories... although in this case, he didn't exactly think that was a bad thing.

The other duplicate made to turn, but Danny yelled: "I'll get him," as he shot past. "You stay there!" The duplicate yelled an affirmative back and continued doing his best to avoid debris. Danny, meanwhile, raced for the boy and reached out his hand.

The moment the kid's hand was in his, he drew him in, rubbing calming circles on his back. He looked terrified, eyes green-rimmed from crying and shaking from obvious fright and exhaustion.

"Hey, it'll be alright," he said as loudly as he dared. He was catching up to his clone, even if they were both still being slowly but steadily drawn back.

Danny reached out and grabbed the clone's foot. His mirror looked back, but didn't stop flying forward. Danny held out the kid to him, hoping the other boy would understand him. He was ahead of them. He had the best chance of getting out of there, even if he had been flying longer. He'd been working on his endurance.

The kid, thankfully, cooperated, holding one of his hairy arms out to grab the other Danny's. That way, too, if the one ahead lost the boy, the one behind could catch him. The clone looked dubious, but reached back anyway, without losing much speed (Danny made a mental note to congratulate himself later). The boy grabbed his hand and the clone began to pull the kid up towards his chest.

That's when Danny saw more debris coming towards them.

"LOOK OUT!" he yelled, pointing. The other Danny followed that point to see a large chunk of rock.

The clone managed to duck. Danny, apparently, was so focused on them getting away that he forgot he had to get away too. At least, until the rock hit him and knocked the breath out of him... or, well, the ghost equivalent.

The last thing he saw before the Rift consumed him was the figure of the boy reaching towards him over the duplicate's shoulder while they still did their best to fly away.

Then the world went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: So, my first foray back into Danny Phantom in... um... years. I've actually been working on this on and off for a long while. Not sure I'm happy with where it went which is why it took me so long to post it, but hey.
> 
> Normally I refused to admit that certain episodes don't exist, but in this one, I'll even include Phantom Planet (as much as it pains me). However, the episode 'Livin' Large' will now be replaced by Bluemoonalto's rewrite 'Livin' Larger'. I recommend you check it out!
> 
> I don't currently have a beta if someone would like to. Drop me a PM if you're interested. Although this chapter has been beta read by Kuroi Atropos! Props to her! Thanks for reading!
> 
> Art for this chapter!: https://www.instagram.com/p/CEn3T16FMo7/


	2. Realizations

There was something specifically unsettling about being an ectoplasmic clone. Something fleeting and fragile and Danny (well, his duplicate) could tell his time wasn't going to last long, especially seeing as the real Danny had suddenly cried out. It wasn't difficult to put two and two together. The duplicate didn't dare look back. After all, what could he do now but make sure that the little yeti didn't get sucked in after his real self?

Except that was a losing battle if he'd ever seen one. Dodging the debris heading into the rift was getting more and more difficult. He wondered if the rift was similar to a black hole, sucking even gravity in. He knew it couldn't be as strong as an actual singularity, or they wouldn't have stood a chance of even flying away this close to it. Still, he couldn't help his mind drawing similarities. He even had the idea to fly parallel to the rift, but it was large and seemed to suck in from all sides and angles, so he doubted that would really help and didn't want to give up what ground he'd gained.

The yeti in his arms was crying and clinging and shaking and Danny didn't dare try something else. He vowed to get this kid home, so he couldn't give up. He _wouldn't_! Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself to fly faster.

And then, the pull stopped abruptly, as if cut off.

The two ghosts suddenly shot forward, completely out of control. Both yelled in surprise and fear until the duplicate managed to adjust their trajectory and slow down. At that point he was able to stop and then looked back. The Rift was gone and all he could see was the endless void of the Ghost Zone.

No sign of the real Danny either.

_So that's what Clockwork meant_, he couldn't help but think grimly to himself.

"Great One!" the voice of the mother drew him out of his thoughts and he looked over at her. Behind her, Frostbite and several of his warriors floated, all looking at the area where the Rift had been warily. "Thank you, so much! I wanted to come after you but they wouldn't let me!" She shot a glare at the yetis behind her, all of them looking completely unrepentant. "In any case, I am thankful for your gallant efforts! In truth, I cannot thank you enough!"

The duplicate nodded sadly at her as she stopped a foot or so away from him, hovering worriedly. He cleared his throat. "Here you go, little guy," Danny said as soothingly as he could, his attention now on the boy clinging to him.

He just clung tighter.

"Don't you want to go back to your mom?"

The boy seemed to freeze and turned his head to glance to the side. He saw his mother there and practically launched himself at her, letting out a loud cry, which then turned to sobs. Danny couldn't help but smile as the older yeti comforted her son.

"Once again, Great One, you had proved yourself and beaten the odds," Frostbite said warmly as he floated up to them.

Danny's mouth thinned into a line and he looked away. "No... I didn't." He could practically feel the other's confusion and sighed, deciding to elaborate. "I'm a duplicate. The real Danny..." he faded off, turning to look at the empty space where the Rift had just been.

The look of shock and sadness on Frostbite's face made the duplicate want to look away again.

"How long do you have?"

Danny shrugged. "Dunno. I think I'm going to try and make it to Clockwork's. He'll probably have some suggestions." He paused and looked around, half expecting the ghost to just appear. He didn't.

"I'll have some of my warriors escort you."

The duplicate blinked and shook his head. "No, you don't have to do that. I've gone many times before."

"But duplicates are easier to dispel, are they not?"

Danny wanted to argue and opened his mouth to do so, but couldn't. After a moment of stilted silence, he let out a sigh.

"Fine," he muttered grudgingly.

Frostbite nodded, turned and snapped his fingers three times. Three bulking warriors came forward, bowing to him and then to Danny. He hated it when people did that, be they human or ghost. He still managed to put a watery smile on his face somehow.

"Travel quickly and safely, Great One," Frostbite said with his own bow. Danny still hated the reverence they tended to give him and tried not to let it show on his face, focusing on his gratefulness instead.

"Yeah, I'll do my best," Danny replied as he turned to go. Before he did, though, he glanced over his shoulder at Frostbite. "Oh, and thanks."

The old Yeti smiled. "Always a pleasure, Great One."

With that, Danny the duplicate set off into the Ghost Zone.

xXx

At first, Danny saw nothing but darkness and the green of the Ghost Zone getting smaller and smaller. He shook off his daze quickly and turned to try and fly back through the Rift, but to no avail. He strained, pushing all of his energy into regaining the familiarity of the ectoplasmic dimension, but before he could, it closed – vanished as if it had never been, leaving Danny in utter blackness.

Before he could even panic, a sudden pain shot through him and he screamed. It felt as if he were being torn apart molecule by molecule...

He was suddenly very glad his father had never gotten hold of him before they found out about his identity.

That was his last thought before even his consciousness faded away.

xXx

His eyelids felt heavy and his body felt... _raw_. Like... someone had dumped him in a primal ectoplasmic stream of some kind.

"Danny! Danny! C'mon, buddy! Talk to me!"

Huh, that sounded familiar... but he couldn't place the voice. It sounded... wrong, for some reason. Too high? And it was hard to think through the unpleasantness he was experiencing.

"We gotta go get his parents," said another voice that he knew he should know, but again this one sounded... different than he felt it should.

He cracked his eyes open to blink up at a blurry, dark-skinned face and couldn't help how his brows furrowed in confusion.

"Tucker?"

"Oh, thank goodness. He's awake," the voice said. He couldn't seem to get his eyes to focus, but that voice did _not_ sound like his best friend's.

"Danny?!" another face, this one pale with dark hair surrounding it, appeared beside the other one.

"Sam?" he asked again, because what was she doing here? And where was here? The last he remembered, he'd been in the Ghost Zone helping out...

"FROSTBITE!" he yelled and sat up. His head did _not _like that. At all. Whatsoever.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow!" he said as he winced and put his hands up to his face.

"He's alive!" Sam said, her voice shuddering. She sounded like she was about to cry. And her voice was still _wrong_.

"That's debatable," he muttered. He never really had figured out if he was alive, dead or undead. While as a human, he had a heartbeat, an open-system body, brain function and a consistent temperature (admittedly it was abnormal at best, but it was _there_) and technically that was all he needed to be considered alive. Well, that and the ability to reproduce which he'd never actually _tested_. His mom would have killed him if he'd tried without letting her know seeing as they'd have to make sure his partner knew all of the potential consequences first. And really, who wanted to tell their parents about _that?_ So he'd just avoided the whole thing. And since he didn't have a girlfriend – hadn't since he and Sam had broken up, really (he just didn't have time for a relationship at the moment) – well, the opportunity had never really come up.

The funny thing was, as a ghost he also technically qualified as alive, but all of the functions _changed_. He still had a heartbeat, but it was slow enough to almost be non-existent. His ghostly body had ectoplasmic cells that worked off of a process very similar to metabolism (his mother had been studying that one for _years_ and couldn't stop talking about how fascinating it was) his brain functioned more or less normally and even ghosts could technically 'die' (they either faded away, moved on or were obliterated).

"Don't joke about that!" Sam scolded, interrupting his train of thought. "Of course you're alive!" Her words had a fragility to it that he hadn't heard in a while. Years, actually.

Danny took a deep breath, realized he was in his ghost form and that might be part of the problem (because his ghost form was usually at the heart of most of the problems in his life). So he switched back. It took him quite a bit of effort to actually make the switch happen too... weird.

Sam and Tucker both gasped.

He frowned at their reaction, even as he blinked and forced his eyes to focus. It worked a little, causing his headache to recede a bit. Taking a deep breath and making sure he was as calm as he could be, he turned to look at them, and froze.

Then he yelped and scooted back.

"Danny?" Sam asked worriedly.

"Dude, if you're that freaked out, we won't tell anyone," Tucker reassured.

"And we'd never hurt you," Sam added on, talking like she would to a wounded animal.

Danny opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. He couldn't help it. In front of him sat his friends, yes, but they were the younger versions of the people he remembered. They couldn't have been older than their mid-teens, all awkward and old-fashioned, even for them.

They looked so... _innocent_.

"Y-you guys..." he managed to get out, but couldn't seem to say anything more.

Sam and Tucker exchanged worried glances. "Do you... see us differently?"

He expected Tucker to say something witty and sarcastic, or maybe even excitedly ask how Danny saw him, as some 3-headed, 12-eyed monster or something. The fact that he didn't showed how worried he was.

"Danny?"

"Y-you're... you're so..."

They hung off of his words like they hadn't done in... well, 10 years. Or...more.

"I... I mean... wait..." Danny put a hand to his head. Then he thought back to what Clockwork had told him, and then the rift and... it all clicked in his head.

"What's the date?" he asked suddenly.

"Um, September 2nd. School just started," Tucker answered, looking confused.

Danny's eyes widened. "Freshman year?!" he asked, very aware of how his voice cracked. Somehow he'd traveled fifteen years into the past. _Fifteen years_.

"Danny," Sam started slowly, "I know you said you didn't want your parents to know about this, but I really think we should tell them. You're not making sense and... I think you were _dead_ a couple of minutes ago." She didn't like saying that. Which was fine, he didn't like hearing it. Not in that tone of voice.

Then he felt his breath hitch. His parents didn't know. His parents didn't _know_... and they'd be on their kick of tearing ghosts apart molecule by molecule. And all of the progress he'd made in helping the Ghost Zone form an actual government and relations _hadn't happened _and the Guys in White were still around and _Vlad freaking Plasmius_...

He suddenly felt so small... and alone. He wasn't sure he could handle going through all that again. He was sure he didn't _want_ to. His life had been good! He'd finally gotten to where he needed to be! This... wasn't fair!

But then, when was his life ever fair?

"N-no," he managed to get out. "I... I'm fine, Sam."

And Sam. All of their history... erased. And Tucker... the youngest mayor to have been elected... and... he really couldn't decide if this was all a good thing or not. They'd drifted apart, as friends tended to do. Sure they still talked to each other and Danny still considered them his best friends, but they all had their own lives now. Or had had their own... in the future?

"You don't look fine," his best friend (because she still was, no matter what had happened) insisted.

"I... I just... I just got zapped by who knows how much ectoplasmic energy," he muttered. "I think... I just need to lay down. That's all."

"That's not all! Danny, something's different about you!"

For a moment he looked at her, hard. Then he smiled. It had been a while since she'd been so adamant about something. Well, concerning him. She was still adamant about her causes these days... er... in his most recent memories. He wanted to sigh. He'd known that things had changed between them after high school, but now to physically _see_ how different everything had been back then...

"Of course something's d— _whoa!_" he yelped as his intangibility acted up on him, causing him to fall through the ground. Not far, thankfully, and only half his body. Unfortunately, it remained active (although he wasn't too upset about that seeing as bad things happened when one became solid inside a solid).

"Danny?!" Sam and Tucker both shot forward, grabbing his hands and pulling him up. He forced his feet to become solid again and let out a sigh of relief when the soles of his shoes and knees touched the ground.

"Dude, what... what's going on?"

Danny looked up at his worried companions and had to hide a nostalgic smile. He actually remembered having this conversation and what he'd told them the first time. He didn't see much of a reason to change it this time. "Guys... I think... I think I'm part ghost now..."

"_How _can you be _part ghost_?!" Sam shrieked, looking relieved when his legs touched the ground again and stayed there. "How can you be _dead_ and _alive_ at the _same time_?!"

The half-ghost shook his head. "I don't know, guys, but... we can't tell my parents about this." Because he needed time to figure everything out now, thank you very much. He had to get things on the same track they'd been on before so he could think about what, exactly, all of this entailed. He could make decisions to really change things later, once he had time to digest all of this. Until then, Clockwork's lessons struck home and he didn't fight his automatic default to keep things as true to memory as possible.

Even if he didn't really look forward to everything coming up. Like the fact that he'd have to go through high school again... Why, oh, _why_ did he have to go through school again?! That didn't even touch on the fact that his Master's degree no longer existed and the second bachelor's he was working on...

And what about all of the friends, both ghost and human, he'd made in the future who didn't know about him at all or who outright hated him. His parents. His sister. _Dani_...

The Disasteroid...

His reputation...

His _whole life_...

Yeah, he needed time to come to terms. Preferably a _lot _of time.

"Why can't we tell your parents?" Sam demanded.

"Um, dude," Tucker cut in defensively, "they hate ghosts."

"They don't _hate_ ghosts," Danny muttered. "But they have no compunctions tearing one apart molecule by molecule..."

Sam looked between them, askance. "They wouldn't do that to you... would they?"

Tucker didn't answer and Danny sighed.

"Look, just for now, let's... keep this on the DL, K? If anything happens that makes me feel or think weird, I'll... I'll go to them. I promise. But for now..."

He and Tucker looked at Sam pleadingly.

"I... don't know," she said hesitantly.

"Please, Sam?" Danny asked. "Promise?"

She glanced between the two of them before caving. "Fine. I promise I won't tell them unless I think you're hurting yourself. Got it?"

Danny grinned. "Thanks, Sam!"

"Now, about getting you to bed," Tucker said as he threw Danny's arm around his shoulders and made towards the stairs.

"I can walk on my own, you know," Danny said dryly.

"Dude, you just got shocked by who knows how many volts. You're lucky to be alive!"

Danny decided not to say anything about that debate again, knowing it would set Sam off at the very least. He wasn't the only person who needed time.

"Yeah, I—whoa!" he yelped as his arm went intangible and invisible. He fell through Tucker onto the stairs and cringed. Then he looked at his hand as it came back into view and this plane of existence. He hadn't had this hard of a time controlling his power since...

Oh.

He closed his eyes and focused on his powers. His core felt... strange. Unsettled. Well, that... actually made a lot of sense... but how long would it be before he stabilized? And two bits his stamina was _shot_. He probably hadn't even had that thyroid gland problem diagnosed (very much _not_ easy to do when his normal temperature was almost 6 degrees below what a normal human's should be... among other things) and getting back any sort of bulk or stamina would be beyond difficult... Getting _anything_ back would be... painstaking at best.

He was used to having control over his powers... control he most certainly did _not_ have anymore.

He gulped. "This... might be even harder to hide than I thought..."

xXx

In his realm of the Ghost Zone, Clockwork frowned at the images before him. They'd all... changed. Very suddenly.

His frown deepened as he began to look through the scenes, acquainting himself with the new universe he suddenly found himself in. What had happened? It would take a little while to track down, but he knew he'd have to get to the bottom of this...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Unbeta'd.


	3. Clockwork

Danny remembered his parents freaking out about the portal the first time. Well, his Dad had been so happy that it was working at all that he'd forgotten to punish his son. That hadn't changed this time.

His Mom, on the other hand... well, her reaction hadn't changed either.

"Daniel James Fenton, we have told you _how many times _to not go into the basement without our say so?"

Danny sighed. Yeah, he remembered this part.

"I'm sorry, mom." What else could he say at this point? Because he couldn't remember what he'd said before and also, she was right.

"You'd better be," she said angrily. "What if something had _happened_? We work with ectoplasm, it's potentially biologically_ hazardous_."

He did remember what his initial response to that had been. Defensive, he'd asked why they had something so dangerous in a home in the middle of a city in the state of Illinois. She'd gone on to say that they had no proof it would ever cause any lasting damage and that they had the proper permissions to run their experiments but that didn't mean that nothing _could_ happen. He'd felt properly chastised and extremely guilty and had been about to confess when his father had burst in... he still had a couple of minutes before that happened this time, though.

"It was my fault," was what he decided on now. "I was telling my friends about the lab and they asked if they could see it. I didn't say no, so they thought it was fine. I didn't warn them... and I'm sorry, mom. You're right."

He'd not just put himself in danger when he'd given into their excited questions about the lab. Although, he had taken on the worst of it himself, it could have severely hurt Sam and Tucker as well. Honestly, they were lucky all three of them hadn't been obliterated on the spot.

The kind of conditions necessary to actually and purposefully _make_ a half-ghost... well, his future mother had given him the rundown. If he hadn't been exposed to low-levels of ectoplasm from a young age, he could have been more or less wiped out of existence. Or he could have destabilized as time wore on, like Dani had physically... or Vlad had mentally. And the ecto-acne (that was the precedence for cases like this seeing as Vlad had been the _only one_) while sounding fairly benign, was painful and draining in a way that most superficial skin conditions weren't. It hadn't been as much of a possibility without the diet-coke circumstance, but it had still been _a _possibility. Really, Danny had gotten the 'best case scenario' and hadn't ever realized just how _lucky_ he'd been.

Actually, he still suspected Clockwork's intervention somehow.

Blasted time-ghost.

His confession seemed to take his mother back for a moment and all anger left her face, replaced by surprise and then worry.

"Danny... did something happen?" she asked. "Are you alright, sweetie?" Reaching out, she put a hand on his forehead to feel his temperature. "You're feeling rather cool..."

She hadn't asked him the first time, not outright like that. If she had, he would have likely broken down right then and told her everything. Should he now? He didn't want his secret to get out, sure, but his parents were another matter entirely. He'd asked Sam and Tucker to not tell them, but was that the right choice?

He opened his mouth, unsure of what exactly would come out of it... and was promptly interrupted by his father bursting in.

"Maddie! I've sent a probe in! You have to come and see some of these images it's sending back! We'll _finally_ get specimens out of this for sure!"

His mother looked up at his father, and then back at Danny, obviously torn. Danny was actually glad for the interruption. It gave him a chance to think... because he hadn't been that potentially impulsive about a major decision in his life for... well, years.

While his parents had a silent discussion (alright, his mother was silent, his father was bouncing on his toes and grunting with excitement), Danny thought over his options. He had a choice he hadn't been faced with in over a decade: Should he tell his parents or not?

If he told them, he might be able to undermine a lot of their initial biases and it would be so much easier to have them on his side. That would be a huge relief and would help to take a lot off of his plate.

On the other hand, though, it might make it _harder_ to convince them that actual ghosts could be good too. After all, if Danny was only half ghost, then they could easily stick to the theory that he was decent because of his human side. They might also try to stop him from protecting the town. It wasn't just the ideas of test after test after test to see if he really was alright, but he could see them making him wear a specter deflector (because he had little doubt they'd come up with something like that asap if they felt they had to) to keep his ghost side – and thus his powers – hidden, and with the ghost attacks that would start within the next couple of weeks, he really couldn't have that. Amity Park couldn't afford it. Also, what would that change in the future? He could lose any edge he had entirely if he wasn't careful. Could he afford to tell them at this point?

That didn't stop him from wanting to.

If he were really 14, the indecision would show. He'd bite his lip and look away and shuffle awkwardly... He didn't do any of those, making sure he continued to stare resolutely up at his parents. He had little doubt his stoic expression could also give him away if he wasn't careful (at least, it always did in the future), but if it did, his mother didn't say anything and his father was too distracted to notice.

That didn't mean he didn't feel incredibly guilty. But, until he could make up his mind, he once again came to the conclusion that he should stick as closely as possible to the original timeline. At least then he'd know what was coming and could plan accordingly. He consoled himself by mentally reminding himself that it had worked out just fine the first time, albeit with more than a bit of heartache, but he'd tell them before it got too far this time.

"Go on, mom. I'm fine," he said with a wave of his hand.

She bit her lip hesitantly. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Now go on."

His mother smiled at him, leaned forward and kissed his forehead, then stood and turned to excitedly follow her husband.

Before she left, though, she turned to him one more time and her smile grew while somehow becoming something scary. He'd always wondered how she did that. "You're still grounded."

His parents closed the door behind them and he heard them rushing off down the stairs, leaving him alone in his old room. Danny sighed. How long had it been since he'd been grounded? Since his parents _could_ ground him? Or at least thought they could.

Gah! This situation was so messed up. Danny shook his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Sure, he'd time-traveled before, but this was different than the time-travel he was used to. Every time he'd encountered it before, a separate, physical body would appear in the past and the future could be changed due to the presence of that future person being in the past. He'd never gone back into his old body before. He couldn't help but wonder what had made this so different that this was the result?

Tiredly, he leaned back on the pillows of his bed and looked up at the posters of rockets and astronauts he had plastered on his walls. Oh, the nostalgia. He smiled fondly, if a little sadly. The astronaut thing hadn't really worked out for him last time. He'd been too busy being a celebrity, and when the time had come to make the choice of what to study for, he just hadn't had the time or the drive to follow that dream anymore. The world had more or less expected him to go into full-time hero work or the sciences, and they'd had good reasoning too. After all, it never hurt to actually _understand _the inventions he worked with.

As sitting around his parents' house had been both frustrating and boring, he'd eventually decided to get his Masters in physics with a minor in psychology (on Jazz's recommendation) for his initial college experience. Somewhere along the way, he'd found that he actually _enjoyed_ learning new things and understanding what his parents were talking about every now and then.

Naturally, his parents had been thrilled, and he'd surprised himself with how much he'd been able to grasp and understand with the time and drive to actually _study_. Turned out he could be almost as smart as Jazz when he had the right motivation.

After graduation, he'd even decided that he'd go back to work on his bachelor's in chemistry and was looking at some political science classes, seeing as he, Sam and Tucker had become the unofficial (and later, official) liaisons to the Ghost Zone. But that had been the extent of it. He hadn't even really done more than glance at a couple of programs that would potentially lead him to becoming and astronaut. It just hadn't been feasible.

He didn't know why his mind drifted along that route first, but as he stared up at the old posters, that was what he found himself thinking of. Should he still study the courses he'd taken the first time when he got to college this time around (if he got to college and didn't find a way back to his own time)? Or could he, perhaps, reawaken his old dream of heading into space? As an actual astronaut this time, not as a side consequence of Technus' issues.

Of course, that brought the thought of Valerie to the forefront of his mind and the realization that he could bypass everything that made her into a ghost hunter...

There were a _lot_ of things he could circumvent, actually, now that he thought about it.

He'd avoided that train of thought when he'd time-traveled before, but now that he was more or less stuck in the past... His breath caught as he really began to absorb the implications of the position he was in. If he couldn't just get back – and Clockwork had more or less said he couldn't (or shouldn't, Danny wasn't sure which to believe at this point) – he'd have to _re-live his entire life_...

Not for the first time, he was grateful that he had some experience with time-travel already. He'd seen the consequences of poorly-thought-out actions and mistakes he just hadn't had the experience or maturity to even begin to tackle properly.

What consequences would there be if Valerie never became a ghost hunter? She'd been rather instrumental in resolving a couple of issues later on, but could he _do_ that to her? Knowingly let her father lose his job and more or less any stability they had? Could he still count himself her friend and let that happen?

And what about Vlad? He was still around, and that thought sickened Danny to no end, but could he just step back and let the older half-ghost be _exiled from Earth?_ Even in the future, he'd thought that had been harsh. Understandable, and almost deserved, but still harsh.

There were other people and ghosts who had caused or been the victim of some nasty circumstances, too. How many citizens of Amity Park alone had been overshadowed by ghosts? Most of the old high-school A-listers on multiple occasions to start with. Almost the entire population with Vlad and his ascension to mayor... And he'd like to avoid incidents like what happened with Undergrowth altogether. But by avoiding them... what would happen in their place? He knew he couldn't avoid every negative thing that happened anymore than he could stop Vlad from being half ghost. By avoiding those instances he could awaken something even worse...

But still, the idea of just _letting _those negative things happen, let alone actively trying to make them come to pass, did not sit well with him. And if he chose to change one thing, then how could he _not _choose to at least try to change something else? What made one person and one event more important than another? And how long would his foreknowledge even last? At this point, he wasn't sure that everything _could_ be the same even if he actively tried to make events repeat.

That made him wonder just how different this future would be. He wasn't the same person he'd been as a 14-year-old (thank goodness), and he couldn't imagine tackling obstacles and problems with that mindset anymore. There had been a lot of consequences to his initial actions and his entire way of dealing with ghosts had changed now. As a somewhat lazy 14-year-old, it had just been (initially) easier to attack first and ask questions later. Then, as he'd grown to know the ghosts more, it had become a habit more than anything else.

Only after he'd started studying psychology and really gotten into debates with Jazz had he truly started to change his mode of operation. That was when he'd stopped simply attacking and started actively helping the ghosts he came across. He'd helped them organize themselves and encouraged them to push for reestablishing an actual government (and not the vague sort of wannabe government the Observants and rest of the Ghost Council had made either). Most ghosts were, after all, initially human or animal, or were descendants thereof, and so they had similar needs, wants and mind-sets. They also tended to have similar complexities regarding their psychology. Admittedly, there had been differences, and those differences depended on the ghost, but the basics were still there nine times out of ten.

At first it had been harder to try and talk things out instead of fighting right off the bat, but the benefits were far more rewarding and he couldn't see himself going back to simply swinging his fists. He didn't _want_ to go back to simply swinging his fists.

Unless Spectra showed up. He'd seriously consider trapping her in a thermos and leaving her there simply for how much potential damage she could do and how much he really couldn't reason with her. He'd tried. Multiple times.

Jazz had made some headway recently, but it had been marginal and after years of work. Sure, she wasn't the strongest ghost in existence, but she made up for that with her malicious intent and ability to use her words – which weren't an actual ghost power – to get what she wanted.

Surprisingly enough, almost every other ghost was worth reasoning with up to and including the Fright Knight himself.

Well, there had been a few he'd never tried (or been able to try) reasoning with, like Pariah Dark and his future evil self...

Wait, did that future evil self even exist anymore?

He didn't know. Just appearing in the past like this had already changed things. Little things, true, but he knew how little things could have a big affect later on. And hadn't he just been going on about how he was a different person and what that would change? Now that he wouldn't even contemplate cheating on a test because he'd definitely learned his lesson. Did that eradicate his future self altogether? Well _that version_ in any case...

By going into the past in this way, had he finally changed the future and stopped that being from ever existing?

He certainly hoped so...

Although, that did bring up the rather disturbing idea of where his younger self had gone now that he was inhabiting his younger body... Did his younger self even exist anymore? Danny shuddered. The idea of killing his younger self (accidentally or not) was supremely disturbing and way too close to other certain events than he was remotely comfortable with.

Had he created (or would he create) a monster just as bad? Or worse?

He'd always had the fear that his future evil self would escape and terrorize and destroy and it would ruin most of any rapport he'd built with more or less anyone, ghost and human alike. What would the Far Frozen think of their hero growing to the power level of Pariah Dark, except far more malicious and destructive than even the Ghost King? The fact that at least half of that creature had been him still haunted his dreams. He'd already seen his teenage 'enemies' and what they thought of his future evil self. He didn't think he'd take it very well if his allies suddenly feared or hated him like that.

On the human side... he shuddered as he imagined what the press would say. One whiff of that to the public right now would be a one-way ticket to a GIW holding cell (he was sure there was still at least one in operation) with slim if any chance of him ever seeing the light of day again. Honestly, knowing that that future wasn't even remotely possible now would be a _huge _load off of his shoulders.

Although, the idea of the press brought up another thought that he hadn't even really entertained for years now...

Should he tell the populous that Danny Fenton is Danny Phantom?

Because, in all honesty, having a secret identity had it's pros, but then so did being a public identity. Being treated as a celebrity meant little to no privacy, and he'd always hated that. He'd always had to watch his mouth or be on the look out for paparazzi, and everyone had been a potential leak to the press. In the future he came from, there had been few people he really counted as friends, especially after he'd grown distant with Tucker and Sam. He knew both of them would still – would have still come running if he'd said he needed them. And he knew that Marci and Michael and Dave from the University would do what they could too, but he'd always had that niggling doubt that they were only his friends because he'd been famous.

Yet another reason he hadn't even wanted to date anyone in the year and a half since he'd broken up with Sam.

Which brought up a whole other kettle of fish he wasn't sure he wanted to get into at the moment, so he forcibly went back to the question of whether he should keep his alter-ego or not. He needed to stop getting distracted.

One thing was for sure, he knew he couldn't let his alternate identity out right now. But he also knew how difficult it was to keep a secret like that. If it was even half as difficult as he remembered, it would only be a matter of time before he'd had enough and just blurted it out one day... well, no. He doubted it would be that bad, but it would be difficult, even if he'd make sure he was a lot more prepared to do so this time. Although the idea of keeping his anonymity was more than a little appealing. Sure, he wouldn't be treated specially at restaurants or when going to movies or when assignments were due... but he wouldn't be stared or gawked at and that in and of itself was beyond appealing.

He sighed and went to sit up. It was Friday, so he didn't have school tomorrow but he still probably had a lot of homework tonight, knowing his teenage self. At least the math should be easy. And the science.

English would still suck, but he'd at least gotten to where he hadn't hated Mr. Lancer's class the first time around. He wondered how much he would remember and winced. Probably not much. But it could get his mind off of everything, and he really wanted a break right now.

He vaguely wondered when doing _homework_ of all things had become his 'break time'. How messed up was that?

Chuckling, he searched through his backpack and pulled out his math textbook. It had his homework assignment shoved into it, thank goodness, so it would be the easiest assignment to finish. And with is Masters in Physics...

Checking over the assignment, he shook his head. He'd thought this hard back then? Of course, he _had_ been in High School. The thing about physics was that it dealt with a _lot _of math. Especially when one got up into Quantum Physics and the corresponding ideas. That should make this high-school geometry a walk in the park. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

With that thought, he went to work. It took more time to write most of the problems down than it did to actually solve them, and he was beginning to think he'd enjoy the brush-up on the basics. Math might become his favorite class if he couldn't get back. What would his parents think?

He was half-way through the second to last math problem when he noticed how silent it had suddenly become. There had been a light wind on the other side of his open window, and the traffic from outside, while not extremely loud, was usually discernible until well after dark. He did, after all, live in a city. He strained his hearing, but could make out no animals or insects, despite the early Autumn night, no sounds from the rest of the house... no nothing.

Worriedly he stood and turned around, only to come face-to-face with the one being he'd known he'd have to visit sooner or later (and the one person he still wanted to punch to some extent). Right about then, he also felt the medallion hanging around his neck. Well, that explained a lot.

He sighed and relaxed a little. "Hello, Clockwork."

The ghost, in his adult form, raised an eyebrow. He didn't look amused.

"So, you are from the future."

Danny blinked. "You didn't know?"

The ghost's gaze didn't change, but Danny thought he _felt_ more annoyed somehow. Which was strange, usually he could only sense human emotions and that had been a bit of development he'd had to actively work on before he could use it reliably. It, too, was shot and he'd need to put in a lot of effort to hone it again. He rarely sensed ghosts... strange.

"Seeing as the incident that made you half ghost went more or less as it should, it took me a little while to track the changes back to this point," Clockwork said dismissively.

Ah. Right. He did have all of time and space to worry about. It might be difficult to find something as small as when his future soul had slipped into his younger body.

Danny rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Would you believe it was an accident?"

The ghost sighed. "From what I've seen of your new future, I can believe it."

The half-ghost bristled a little. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Clockwork just raised one eyebrow again and Danny deflated. "Sorry. I... haven't gotten that up in arms over something so simple in a while."

"That... would likely be your younger self poking through."

Danny blinked. "My... younger self..." Then he sagged, relieved. "He isn't dead?"

The ghost seemed to study him for a couple of seconds before shaking his head. "No. In the rare cases of this form of time travel, the two spirits of the traveling person merge."

"Oh... good." Danny instantly felt much better about the situation.

Unfortunately, he didn't know what to really say next, so he looked down at his feet, shuffling a little in discomfort. He hadn't done that in years either. It was definitely something his younger self would do.

"Well, it is time I return to my duties," Clockwork said after a few more awkward seconds of silence.

Danny's head snapped up. "Wait," he said. The ghost paused, waiting for Danny to continue. "Um... I... um know that things will be different in ways I can't predict. Your other self taught me that. But... will my powers develop similarly to how they did before?"

Clockwork faced Danny again. "Yes. As far as I can see."

"Will... I hurt myself if I try to use them when I haven't manifested them naturally?"

The ghost changed into his child-like form. "Mostly, no. I cannot remember, did you have teleportation in your other future?"

Danny blinked. "I... can teleport?"

"Currently, no."

"... Oh."

"And your vocal attack."

"My Ghostly Wail?"

The adult-turned-child's head tilted to one side. "Just to point it out, you could rename any of your... less well named techniques."

Danny opened his mouth to defend his choice when he realized that his older, evil self had actually named it... and there was no way he could defend that.

And frankly, there were another couple of names he could work with.

"Right. Don't use that attack," Danny muttered, still a little miffed _for no reason._ Ugh... puberty. Wait, had he finished puberty by the time he turned 14?

Did anyone ever really finish puberty, or did they just learn to deal with it?

He shook the thought away, concentrating on his questions before Clockwork got bored and left. "Um... about the future... In my other life, I... didn't always make the best decisions and there was this one time where I was really afraid of the future and I cheated on a test..."

The blue-skinned child turned into an old man. "Ah, yes. One of the largest changes. That being was wiped from the timeline." That weight Danny had been carrying on his chest lifted and he hadn't even realized how good it would feel.

"That, of course, doesn't mean you can let your guard down."

Danny couldn't nod hastily enough. "I understand."

"Good," the ghost said with a firm nod.

"And... um... do you... recommend keeping the timeline as close to the original as possible? Or should I just change whatever I want?"

The ghost frowned. "It is never a good idea to just 'change whatever you want'," Clockwork admonished. "Any changes you make, make with care."

"R-right."

"That being said," Clockwork held his hand up and became a regular adult again, "this is a new timeline. It will go where it goes no matter your origin dimension. Struggling to keep it the same will most likely be just that: a struggle. Although it is true that the closer to your original timeline you are, the more knowledge you will have and the more control over the changes that will give you, don't let that discourage you from making any changes."

Danny sighed. "As usual, a non-answer."

To his surprise, Clockwork smiled. "I have found that giving people answers is no where near as effective as letting them find the answers for themselves."

Well, he wasn't wrong, even if it was beyond annoying. Still, he should be grateful for what he has. "Thanks for the information, Clockwork."

The ghost nodded his head, a small smile still on his face. "I look forward to seeing what you do."

Danny quirked an eyebrow. "Don't you already know?"

"Daniel," Clockwork said, sounding fondly admonishing, "I thought you would know well enough that the future is never fixed."

"And neither is the past, according to you," Danny replied, smiling a small smile himself and shaking his head.

"True."

The atmosphere between them had relaxed a lot, and he felt far more comfortable than earlier in their conversation, even knowing this wasn't _his_ Clockwork. So he decided to ask:

"Why is this different from normal time-travel?" he asked.

The ghost shifted forms to an old man again and cocked his head in puzzlement.

"Normal time travel just sends someone to the past. They appear as a separate person than their past self, but I came back into my old body. I've never heard of that happening before. So... how?"

Clockwork's easy-going air melted away and he just looked grimly at Danny.

"This type of time travel, as you say, usually happens when the method of time-travel kills or obliterates the person or ghost going back in time."

The half-ghost felt his face pale. "O-obliterate?"

The old-looking ghost sighed. "I'm sorry, Daniel."

Danny had to sit down again. It was hard to breathe and he felt as if his chest was too tight. He forced himself to breathe slowly nonetheless and it took him a little bit to hear past the rushing of blood in his ears.

"B-but Clockwork... my Clockwork told me that I wouldn't die..."

"You are still here, Daniel. Your future body may be gone, but you aren't."

Danny grit his teeth. "You do love your technicalities, don't you."

Clockwork changed to his young form, looking confused. "I am not sure I understand why you have a problem with this as you've already died once, even in your current body. I thought you had already come to grips with it. You are a ghost just as you are a human, and it is general consensus among ghosts that if your consciousness continues on in any form, you live."

Danny supposed he could see that, but he wasn't really focusing on the other ghost's point of view as he was too busy trying to swallow past the lump in his throat. It wasn't an easy feat.

"S...so I did die, in... in the portal," he managed to get out, that one point sticking out in his mind.

The ghost nodded.

"Am... am I just overshadowing my own body?"

Clockwork turned back into his adult form. "In a way. The ectoplasmic energy required to start the portal stopped your living bodily functions while turning your spirit into a fully-realized ghost, still in your body and technically overshadowing it. The ectoplasm infused into your human body became a medium between the physical and ghost worlds and the resonance between the two fused them together, reviving you."

That... had to be the most that Clockwork had ever said to Danny, but he couldn't enjoy the straightforward answer for once as he had to continue to focus on forcing himself to take deep breaths.

His parents had whittled down theories about how a half-ghost could even exist, what conditions must be present to create one, and the preparation that must happen for such an outcome, but they'd never been sure about the mechanical specifics of the seconds where one was created. How could they? No one was willing to risk creating another entity as unpredictable as it could be powerful, so they'd only had Danny's (and Vlad's, although seeing as he was in outer space when they began working on those theories, a lot of it had been second hand and vague) experience to work from. And as much as he'd wanted his theories confirmed, finding out that he'd actually _died _and become a full ghost wasn't something he could just accept in a couple of seconds. He'd have to work through it later.

So he decided to focus on his current problem instead of things that had already happened in both timelines, even if the topic was every bit as difficult.

"S-so the future me... was obliterated?" he asked, hating how strained his voice sounded but unable to do anything about it.

"Your physical body, yes. You, however, weren't. Your consciousness was sent into the past, then drawn to and naturally merged with your past self."

That seemed like another one of those awfully convenient technicalities to Danny, but at this point he'd take it.

Although, in light of all of the new information he'd received, he had to ask:

"Am... I even human anymore?" he heard himself ask and wished he could take the words back almost as soon as they'd left his mouth. He changed his mind. He didn't want to know...

"Of course you are. You fused with your body in a different way than before, but it is still your body and you still have human emotions, thoughts and feelings." Was it just Danny, or did Clockwork say that as if it had been a particularly stupid question?

He still felt a rush of relief at the Ghost's words. He'd never outright lied to Danny before.

Although there was another question he had to ask. "So... there's no way I can go back..."

Silence. Yeah, he'd been afraid of that.

Then, "Yes, there is."

Danny's head snapped up so fast he felt his neck crick.

"However, doing so would deprive this world of their Daniel Fenton. If it's really what you want... I will send you back to your time in this body."

For several seconds Danny just stared at the ghost in front of him, his brain refusing to really work except for the thought 'I can go home...' running through his mind over and over again. Then he shook his head and forced himself to think.

Could he do that? Could he really deprive this world of their Daniel Fenton? What would happen? Would ghosts tear the town apart? And what about the Disasteroid? He'd seen one future where he had destroyed the world himself, and he didn't think the Disasteroid had struck in that future. But then it had come in the one he'd lived in... would it come this time? Who would save the world? Was he dooming this world by leaving it?

Could he live with the guilt of that possibility by being selfish?

Blast his hero complex/ghost obsession.

"No," he managed to whisper hoarsely. "No, I... I can't do that. This Amity needs him... needs me."

A cold hand on his shoulder had him looking up at the adult form of his mentor.

"That, Daniel, is why you are a hero."

He felt tears come to his eyes. His past life was gone... and he'd have to mourn it. He'd have to let himself feel that pain, and he knew it would _hurt_... but it was better than the guilt he'd feel for leaving this world to potentially be destroyed. He'd go through the pain of being alone in this world – the only person from the future – if it meant he could save these people.

"That... doesn't stop it from hurting," he said, needing to hear it himself even if he already knew that.

"No, it doesn't," Clockwork agreed softly... like he'd had experience himself.

Danny tried to blink away his tears (blasted hormones making this even worse!) and he had to ask one more thing.

"How... how many have you had to leave behind?"

The ghost became an old man again, looking far older and more tired than Danny had ever seen him. "Too many."

And suddenly he didn't feel so alone anymore. He put a hand on the ghost's arm, squeezing it tightly in a show of solidarity. He'd always looked up to Clockwork for saving his family and helping him out along with all of his duties as the Time Master. Now, it was as if he'd seen him in a completely different light, his respect for the ghost growing even more.

"I'm... sorry," he whispered.

"I am sorry you lost so much as well."

It hurt less, knowing that someone else had gone through what he had and had still come out a hero. It filled him with the hope that maybe, just maybe, he could make this work too.

"How... did you deal with it?" he asked, hoping for another straight answer.

"I told someone I trusted everything," Clockwork said. "I highly recommend you do the same. Choose someone close to you whom you trust implicitly. You may have lost your entire world, Danny, but you don't have to suffer alone."

The lump in his throat was still there, but he was confident that if he opened his mouth now, his voice wouldn't shake. So he did.

"I'll think about it." He wiped his eyes and managed a smile.

"Please do. Now, I think it's time I took my leave," Clockwork said, turning back into his adult form.

Danny knew a strategic retreat when he saw one, so he nodded. But he felt he did have to warn the other ghost. "I know you're busy, Master of Time or not, but I may come to you with more questions. Or even just to visit, if... you're okay with that."

"Then I'm sure you know the way," the ancient ghost said with a nod. "I'm happy to have met you this evening. It has been... enlightening."

"Yeah," Danny replied. "It has."

"I must be going, but I look forward to seeing you again. Good evening, Daniel."

"Danny," he said as the ghost turned away yet again. "Call me Danny."

"Very well, Danny."

He hit the button on the top of his staff and the words, **"Time in," **echoed around the room. Suddenly, Danny could hear the breeze and the insects stir again. He held out the time medallion and the ghost took it with a nod of his head before vanishing in a swirl of a portal.

The half-ghost sat there in the quiet of the Autumn evening, grateful he was alone now as the smile he'd been forcing fell from his face. Feeling as if his soul had just shattered and shakily glued back together, Danny put his homework away and walked over to his bed, collapsing on it and allowing himself to cry.

He didn't remember falling asleep, but he welcomed the respite it gave him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Un-beta'd.
> 
> Long chapter. *shrug* Had to get through Clockwork. Otherwise it would have been too short. So, hope this answers questions.
> 
> I had a couple of people PM me about being a beta reader. Thank you! I'll likely be sending you the next chapter or a link to the next chapter. :)


	4. Jazz

Danny woke early the next morning, feeling terrible. His eyes felt swollen and gritty and his nose was stuffy. He had a headache and he felt cold lying on top of his covers. Not unbearable, but still uncomfortable. Apparently his body hadn't adapted to the ice core yet.

Of course not. It had taken at least a year before it had fully stabilized before.

Groaning softly, he reached down and tugged his shoes off, then stumbled to his feet and stripped as quickly as he could, fully intent on burrowing under his covers as soon as he could. He took a deep breath as he sat down on his bed... and promptly fell through it.

"Son of a..." he cut off and glanced at the door. He'd spoken quietly and doubted his parents would hear him, but still. He'd gotten into the habit of swearing more than his parents liked. He'd probably have to clean up his language a little to avoid trouble. It wasn't like he wouldn't have enough on his plate in days to come.

Grumbling, he got back up, brushed himself off and climbed under the covers, a little more carefully this time. Despite the disrupt in his sleeping, he was able to drift off again in a couple of minutes.

xXx

When he woke next, he felt much better for sleeping the effects of the day before off. He still felt strange and sluggish, and his head throbbed dully, but it wasn't anything that would really bother him.

So he got up and dressed in some clean pants and a shirt before tromping downstairs to get breakfast. Thankfully, his mother had left some scrambled eggs and bacon in the fridge for him and he couldn't help but feel warm from the gesture as he stuck them in the microwave to heat up. It wasn't run on ecto-energy yet (his parents were still working on their clean energy system that the portal would be a large part of), but he gave it a couple of weeks at most before everything in the house was running off of it.

It was actually a little strange to see his old, not-upgraded kitchen instead of the newfangled one they'd remodeled it into a couple of years ago. Well, into his past... ugh. Still confusing.

As he watched the food spin around behind the transparent door, he couldn't help but go over Clockwork's words from the evening before. His chest constricted again as he remembered that the ancient ghost had confirmed that Danny had actually died in the portal... and that his body from the future was gone – that he'd died _again_ for all intents and purposes.

He remembered how he'd chosen to stay here instead of going back and rubbed a hand over his face, gritting his teeth. It still hurt to think of everything he'd lost, and he knew that it would for a long time yet. That was normal when grieving... but it didn't mean he had to like it.

A ding drew him out of his spiraling thoughts and he looked back at the microwave, opening it and taking the plate of now hot food out. He walked over to the table and set his breakfast down before reaching over to a drawer and grabbing a fork. It took him a couple of tries as his hand kept going intangible.

Finally, he managed to keep hold of the utensil long enough to stick a bite of eggs in his mouth and continued to think.

Clockwork had also suggested that he tell someone everything. From a psychological standpoint, it was a good idea, even if the thought of having to explain everything he was feeling right now did not appeal to him. Still, he knew he needed some relief, and talking to someone he trusted would give him that. The sooner he did so, the better as it would head off a lot of the issues that could arise.

Making up his mind, he decided that he would tell someone... the question was, who?

He wanted to tell Tucker and Sam, but if he told one, they would tell the other and... while he knew it was only on his side, right now, he still felt awkward around Sam. Even this Sam who matched the girl of his memories and who carried a large part of nostalgia with her wherever she went. He just didn't know how to act around her right now, and while he considered telling only Tucker, the idea of both of them sharing a secret and leaving Sam out of it (and that's if he got a promise that the techno-geek wouldn't say anything) was not appealing. It would likely tear them apart in the long run and their friendship was not something he was willing to give up.

So as of right now, Sam and Tucker were out. He'd revisit that decision later.

After them, his mind immediately went to his older sister and he knew he'd found his confidant. His sister was intelligent and determined and could keep her mouth shut when it came to secrets... Not to mention, he'd love to have her insight on some of the upcoming events and what he should change.

The biggest problem with his decision was the fact that Jazz didn't believe in ghosts yet. There hadn't been any attacks as of right now, and she firmly believed that her parents were completely screw-loose nuts. (Well, to be fair, they were, but not like she was thinking.)

That meant Danny would have to give her proof... and a reason to not go and tell their parents. He could do the former, and without too much difficulty. He was also pretty sure she wouldn't confide in the older Fentons at this point unless she felt she had no other choice, but if he proved some of their theories correct, he had to at least consider that she might go to them.

Despite that, he couldn't think of anyone else who fit the bill better. Well, he had Clockwork, but the Ghost had all of time and space in this reality to cover and wouldn't have the time for Danny to stop by for regular discussions all the time. Not to mention, he wouldn't get any definitive answers from the cryptic ghost, nor would he get a lot of actual help. He was also pretty sure that when Clockwork had said to find someone to confide in, he wasn't counting himself.

No, it looked like Jazz was his best bet.

So he cleaned up the plate he'd been eating from and the table where it had sat quickly before he wiped his hands off and walked upstairs. There was no reason why he couldn't just get this started now that he'd made a decision.

When he came to Jazz's door, he paused and stood there for several minutes, his arm poised to knock and hoping beyond hope that he'd made the right choice. His parents were locked away in the lab, again, excited to study the new portal, and neither one of the Fenton kids had school, so this was the perfect time to talk to her.

That didn't make approaching her like this any easier.

To be fair, he hadn't had to actually _tell _anyone he was Danny Phantom for almost a decade and a half. He was rather out of practice... not that he'd ever really been _in_ practice.

"Come on, Fenton," he told himself, wondering when he'd reverted to calling himself by his last name. Must be a 14-year-old thing. Swallowing back his worry, he knocked hard.

"Just a second," he heard her call from inside and took a deep breath. She hated people going in her room, so she always answered her door as if it was her own apartment. This time was no different as a couple of seconds later, she opened her room door and blinked in surprise when she saw him standing there.

"Hi, Jazz," he said, then mentally kicked himself. Really? That's how he started this? With a nervous sort of greeting that was almost a stutter?

"Danny. What's wrong?"

"Oh... um, nothing really."

She blinked again, then crossed her arms. Oh, not a good sign. "Well, why did you knock then? I have things I have to study for and this is cutting into that time."

Danny felt his face fall into an unimpressed deadpan. Just a couple of sentences and he was already questioning his decision. But in his defense, he didn't remember Jazz being so... snobbish? Controlling? Self-absorbed? All of the above?

Then again, she'd changed after the initial Spectra thing in the previous timeline. And honestly, the idea that ghosts were real would likely force her to reanalyze her life again, let alone the knowledge that her brother was one. He hoped he would see the sister he had really learned to respect soon.

"Look, I need to talk to you."

Her brow furrowed ever so slightly. "Can it wait? I'm kind of in the middle of something."

It had been a long time since she thought that studying was more important than being there for her family.

No, he couldn't think of it like that. She didn't know what he was about to say.

"No," he replied, crossing his own arms, "it can't."

The wary look she shot him didn't help to ease his worries. "It sounds important."

"It is."

She quirked an eyebrow, looking utterly confused. "And you came to me?"

His 14-year-old impatience was kicking in because he'd had just about enough. "Fine. If you don't want me to tell you, I won't," he grumbled and turned to walk away.

"No, it's not that," she said hurriedly, "it's just that... you don't normally come to me."

Danny paused. "Well... I have my reasons."

It was strange to see Jazz, of all people, looking nervous. "And they are?"

"Well, I can explain why, but... um... can I come inside? Or, I guess you could come to my room. I... don't want to have this conversation standing in the hall."

She studied him for a couple of moments before nodding and stepping aside. He steeled himself and walked in, taking a seat on her desk chair while she went to sit on her bed where she'd laid several text-books out.

"Alright, Danny, what is it?" she said once they'd gotten comfortable.

Danny took a deep breath. "Did mom tell you about the accident yesterday?" he asked.

Jazz frowned and nodded. "That was extremely irresponsible of you."

The half-ghost snorted. "Don't I know it."

Her frown deepened. "Did something happen?"

"Yeah." Danny refused to look away from her, nodding firmly after he spoke.

"What is it?" she asked worriedly, snapping into older-sister mode. "Do mom and dad know? Should we take you to the hospital?"

He shook his head. "I don't think the hospital can help, Jazz." And with that, he transformed. It was still a little difficult, but he felt like he was getting the hang of it faster than he had last time in any case. His core still felt unsettled, almost malleable, so he was grateful for any control he could get.

Jazz, for herself, scooted back on her bed, covering her mouth with her hands and hunching against the wall like she really wanted to go further. Oh, well. Too late to take it all back.

"You see," he started, rubbing the back of his head, "I'm kind of half ghost now."

Jazz didn't' answer for over a minute, just staring at him like her eyes would fall out of her head at any second. After a few moments, she seemed to gather herself as she took a deep breath and opened her mouth. Then she asked him, "How do you know this turned you into a ghost? Maybe it just did something to your hair... and eyes... um..."

Danny's deadpan expression returned. He floated into the air, reached an arm through the ceiling and waved it around a bit before going invisible. Jazz actually squeaked at that one.

"What else would it have turned me into?" he asked dryly as he reappeared.

She continued to just stare at him.

Growing concerned, he floated over to her and waved his hand in front of her face. "Hello... Jazz?"

His sister didn't answer. He waited for a couple of seconds, but she still didn't look like she would be speaking any time soon.

"Jazz!" he yelled.

No response.

"Seriously, Jazz, answer me." He hadn't meant to _break_ her!

Finally, she opened her mouth. "Ghosts... are real?" she muttered.

He figured that maybe he should transform back. It should make her a bit more comfortable to have him looking more familiar. At least he hoped it would

So he called his human side forward, landing adroitly on the ground, and walked up to her before putting his hands on her shoulders.

"Jazz?"

"I was... wrong?"

Oh. She was having _this_ breakdown. He let out a breath of relief. He was pretty sure she could handle this breakdown pretty well. She had before, after all.

"Jazz, it's okay to be wrong, you know."

"But... I'm never wrong."

He raised an eyebrow in wry amusement. "If you were never wrong, you wouldn't be human. Or a ghost," he added on as an after thought. "Besides, there hasn't been any conclusive evidence supporting ghosts in scientific history. It wasn't that you were wrong, per se, just that you didn't have all of the right information."

"I... wasn't wrong?" she asked, turning her glassy gaze on him.

"Well, you were, but it wasn't your fault."

She blinked.

"What else could I have been wrong about?" Yeah, he had to head that one off now.

It occurred to him briefly that this was not the conversation he'd been expecting to have, even if it didn't surprise him now that he thought about it.

"Actually, not much. You're pretty good at figuring things out and seeing patterns. It's part of what makes you so smart. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, you're right. But you should never accept 'being right' as a constant. Not so long as you have a human brain."

"But what if I'm wrong some time and someone gets hurt because of it?"

Oh, right, she wanted to be a brain surgeon still. And that one percent could really add up when it came to human lives. He remembered having a conversation about how she didn't think she could handle the guilt of all the people she could potentially let down as a doctor. It was one reason why she'd gone into psychology, where if she did screw up, she'd have a better chance at fixing it... well, to some extent. She'd learned later just how careful she still had to be.

Danny smiled sadly. He hadn't realized that that reason was why she'd been so adamant about being right when they were younger. Again, knowing her family and her personality, it made sense now that he thought about it.

"That's the chance you take when you try to help someone. But it's either that or don't help – stand by and watch as someone gets hurt, then live with the guilt of knowing that you had the power to do something, but were too afraid of being wrong to try."

He smiled. "It's alright to be afraid. Bravery isn't the absence of fear, but the judgment that something is more important than fear. If you're wrong, then you learn from it, learn to deal with the guilt that comes with it – because the guilt will come – and move on. That's all you can do."

Her head tilted to one side as she looked at him and her expression focused a little.

"Who are you? You're... not talking like Danny. Did the ghost thing do that to you?"

The half-ghost chuckled. "Well, that's my other secret. You see, Jazz, I'm from the future."

More blank blinks.

"Oh."

He frowned. "I tell you I'm from the future and you just say 'oh'?"

She didn't answer again. Danny sighed.

"Look, I get it. You need to process. That's fine. I just dumped a lot on you... and I'm sorry, but I was advised to tell someone. With everything that's happened to me lately, I don't want to chance falling back into bad habits and I need someone to bounce ideas off of if nothing else. I chose you because I think you'll be the best person to help me right now."

Yet again, he received no answer.

Danny tried not to look disappointed that she hadn't reacted to that and stood. "The thing is, I need you to promise me you won't go to Mom and Dad without me, K?"

Her dazed eyes fell on him again, although it didn't look like she was actually focusing on him. "Why?"

Well, if she was questioning, that was a good sign.

"Mainly because I want to tell them myself, but also because I want to keep the timeline as close to the original as I can for a little while so I have as much control over the changes that occur as possible."

Several seconds of silence fell between them. Then she opened her mouth, "That makes sense."

Danny wasn't sure anything made sense to her right now. "I need you to promise me, Jazz. If you have any issues or questions you can come talk to me, alright?"

"I..." she started, then slowly nodded. "Okay."

He let out a relieved breath.

"Good. Now, would you like me to stay here while you think, or would you like to be on your own?"

She blinked again, slowly this time. "I... think I'd... like to be alone."

He nodded in understanding. "Well, I know it's a Saturday, but I'm kinda grounded, so I'll be in my room when you want to come and talk to me, okay?"

"Okay," she replied, voice still hazy.

Danny smiled at her as he backed out of her room. "See you later then?"

"Yeah, later."

She didn't return the smile... or grace him with any expression. She wasn't even looking at him.

He finally left her room and slumped against the wall. Well, no wonder he hadn't told anyone before. This had been... difficult.

With another sigh, he stood up again and walked back into his room, where he promptly dropped to the floor and began to exercise. If he was stuck here for the weekend, that meant he had to do something to stave off his boredom, and training had been his go-to for several years now. May as well do something productive. Maybe he could even play around with his ghost powers and really see what he could do. Did he have ice powers yet? Or would that come when his core stabilized?

Well, there was one way to find out.

xXx

Danny alternated between exercising his body and working on his ghost skills for a couple of hours. In addition to going invisible, intangible and floating, he could make small things frost over (ice core from the get go, apparently, although even that much had been difficult), he had his ghost sense, and... that was about it. He'd tried to use a ghost ray, and couldn't do much more than gather energy in his palm. So he guessed that Clockwork had left that out so he'd figure out the limits of his powers on his own. From Clockwork's warning, he wouldn't be surprised if trying to use his ghostly wail or teleportation would have been severely detrimental – permanently damaging even – to him, and thus he stayed far away from them. He did, however, try to duplicate himself. That did not go over well as he couldn't make more than an extra appendage appear, but it didn't hurt him at least.

In the future, he'd gotten the ability to use telekinesis to a limited extent, and he'd been working on creating portals into the ghost zone. Unsurprisingly, that one went about as well as it had the last time he'd tried in the future – he still couldn't do it at all.

He could infuse things with his ecto-energy, but it was difficult to control and ended in more than one fried piece of paper. Which made him stop and consider for a moment, because ectoplasmic beams were a type of plasma and heated things up, but ectoplasm was inherently cold. Could he potentially do something with fire too? His future evil self had had a fire affinity, what with his hair and all, but he'd always assumed that had come from Vlad. Maybe not? Hmm, he'd have to think on that.

His shields were the final thing he tested, and while he was able to get both a dome and a plate to appear, neither one of them would hold up much against an onslaught. Still, it was better than nothing, and with his core feeling so unsettled, he would take what he could get.

Lunch found him sprawled on his bed, exhausted and sore, but it didn't feel nearly as bad as it likely would tomorrow. He'd pushed mainly his body to the limit, and while he felt a slight strain on his core, he knew that he'd be able to do more if he wanted. Once he could convince his body to move, that is. Unable to do so for several minutes, he just sat there and stared at the ceiling while he caught his breath, and wondered if he just took in extra calories if that would help him gain the weight he needed. Hmm... He could pass it off as a teenager growth spurt, couldn't he?

With that thought, he contemplated going downstairs for lunch. He'd been doing so for a good ten minutes when he heard a knock on his door.

For a couple of seconds, he just looked over and blinked at the panel of wood before he forced himself to get to his feet and walked over to open the door. Outside, Jazz stood, looking worried but determined with a notebook in one hand and a pack of colored pens in the other. So, she wanted to take notes?

"Jazz?" he asked. At least she looked better now. More focused... intensely so.

"Tell me everything," she said.

Danny felt a smirk tug at his lips as he stood aside and let her in.

"So," he said when he closed the door, "you believe me?"

She didn't answer for several seconds, and didn't even sit down. When she did speak, her voice was low and grim.

"There are two options. Option 1: You're a ghost that has somehow taken over my brother's body. It explains the personality changes and the ghost powers, but you'd have to be an awfully good actor to pull that off. I could tell, somehow, that you really cared about me earlier, even if I couldn't process it at the time. Option 2: You're telling the truth. I'm here to see which one I can believe. "

Danny crossed his arms, trying not to feel that pang of disappointment at her disbelief, because she was still being logical about it. In the future, he would have acknowledged that and moved on. Apparently, though, his younger self couldn't just let that go. Fortunately, his older self was able to assert his influence in what was said at least.

"I know it's hard to believe, but just because you don't believe something doesn't make it untrue."

Jazz winced a little. "I know. That's why I'm giving you a chance to convince me."

As she took her seat, Danny frowned. "How?"

She took out the pens and set them on the desk, gesturing for Danny to take a seat (or to lay down, this was reminding him quite a bit of his future sister) on the bed across from her. And she said she always wanted to be a doctor. Somehow, Danny couldn't help but feel that she had been born to be a psychiatrist.

He humored her and sat on the bed, cross legged, and leaned against the wall as he faced her.

"Alright, how far in the future are you from?"

"About fifteen years."

She wrote that down.

"And how were you sent back in time?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, that's a bit of a story. You know the Ghost Zone? The area on the other side of the portal I opened?"

Jazz looked a little pained as she shook her head slowly.

Danny took a deep breath. "Well, it's a dimension similar to ours and codependent on our world as well. Our worlds sort of feed off of each other."

"Like, in a parasitic way?"

"No," the black-haired boy shook his head. "I mean, I guess it _can _be, but since both worlds have advantages over, but give benefits to the other world, it's more of a very complicated symbiosis."

Jazz blinked a little at that before writing that information down in a different color.

"Continue," she said after a moment.

Danny did. He told her about how the Ghost Zone works, how it's more or less brimming with energy and sentience. How almost anything in the realm would become sentient – sapient even – if left long enough (unless it was innately magical or enchanted).

Then he explained how there are all sorts of anomalies in the Ghost Zone and how he'd tried to save a kid from being swallowed by a strange rift that appeared. That by doing so he'd gotten sucked in himself and had then woken up here.

Jazz finished writing her notes and glanced at him again. "And you woke up yesterday after the accident."

Danny nodded.

She took a deep breath and looked over her notes. "It sounds like you got to know the ghost zone... and its ghosts, rather well."

"Well, yeah," Danny said as he rubbed the back of his head. "I mean, there isn't really a way to not get to know them since I became one of them."

"But... you're still human?"

He tried not to flinch as he nodded, purposefully steering his mind away from the conversation with Clockwork the previous evening. He'd tell her about that too, eventually, but it was too soon right now.

She looked a little pained trying to wrap her head around that. Danny didn't blame her. "How can that be?"

"Well," he said, "Mom and Dad figured that it could only happen in certain circumstances. You and I have been exposed to ectoplasmic samples since we were little, and while that doesn't negatively affect the human body, especially in small doses, it does make us different."

The red-head's face paled considerably. "So... I could... become like... you?"

Danny nodded. "Theoretically."

Jazz gulped. "Oh."

"But it would take the combined circumstances that only the energy from opening a new portal could produce. The warping of reality so that a passage between the human and ghost worlds can exist creates specific conditions that are nearly impossible to replicate in any other capacity."

Silence reigned as his sister just stared at him for several seconds. Then, "You sound like Mom."

Danny blinked, then he smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"Right," Jazz muttered and shook her head. Then she started taking notes again. "What happens if those conditions aren't met?"

She sounded like she didn't want to know the answer. She wasn't wrong.

"Like if this was tried on a normal human that had no exposure to ectoplasm?" Danny asked. "It would likely kill them; separate their body and spirit and then let that spirit become a fully manifested ghost." He bit his lip. "For someone who has had some exposure but not as much, it creates a half-ghost similar to me, but either their body or mind degrades over time, at least as far as we can tell. Same thing goes for trying to replicate the process without using an actual portal."

Jazz kept taking notes for several seconds before her hand started to slow and she looked up worriedly. "These are just theories, right? Mom and Dad didn't actually, you know, _experiment_... did they?"

Danny shook his head firmly. "No, they didn't. But the reason these theories exist... well..."

So he told her about Vlad and Dani.

By the time he finished, she seemed a little green. Not that he could blame her.

Abruptly, his stomach let out a loud growl. Embarrassed, he glanced over at the clock and saw that it was well past dinner time. Their parents were likely still busy with the portal and the ghost zone, so it was up to them to get dinner for themselves. Not exactly difficult seeing as they were fully capable of doing so, but while some food sounded great to him, he wasn't sure Jazz was up for any.

He decided to offer anyways.

"Hey, I'm going to get myself a bowl of cereal or something for dinner. Want something? Some canned soup? Chicken noodle if we have it, maybe?"

She opened her mouth, looking fully ready to protest, but seemed to think better of it as she paused and closed her lips again. Then she nodded.

"Y-yeah. Thanks."

"I'll be right back then," he said, walking out the door. He'd considered phasing through the ceiling (he did it all the time at home... well, his future home), but figured that it would be pushing her mental capacity to take all of this in too far too fast. So he waited until he was in the hall before slipping into invisibility and intangibility and then floating into the kitchen.

It was more difficult to control without going into ghost mode, but he hoped that forcing himself to keep a hold of his powers like this would give him more control over them faster. He ended up falling the last few feet to the floor with a small yelp, and then his left foot and his right hand went through the floor, causing him to end up smacking his chin, rather painfully, into the kitchen linoleum.

"Ow," he grumbled, rubbing his chin as he forced his appendages tangible and got to his feet. Then he opened the cupboards and started rummaging around for the food and dishes he would need.

Ten minutes later, he crept up the stairs with a tray carrying two bowls of soup, concentrating very hard on not letting any part of him go intangible. The warm meal had sounded better than the cereal, so he'd made some for himself too. He opened the door to see Jazz loosely holding a pen in one hand, resting on the notebook in her lap while the other was on his desk, propping up her chin as she looked blankly out the window.

"Jazz?" he asked cautiously.

She startled a bit and turned to see him holding the tray in the doorway.

"Oh, hey," she said a little weakly. "Thanks."

He handed her the bowl before setting his own down on his desk and crawling back into bed. He might spill, but that had never been a problem when he could make things phase through whatever he spilled. He sat cross legged again and reached over for the bowl.

It was still warm. He smiled and gingerly began to scoop the noodles into his mouth. Jazz picked her spoon up, looked at the food on it for a moment and then let it drop back into the soup.

"So," he said after a couple of moments, "what else do you want to know?"

He almost regretted it when she flipped to a page that was already quite full of her writing and took a deep breath. He got comfortable and set in for the long haul.

xXx

She asked him to explain the future as comprehensively as possible. At first he was a little wary because knowing the future wasn't necessarily a good thing... but then he realized that he was in the same boat and that was probably what Clockwork had meant when he said to tell a confidant everything. So he did.

It wasn't perfect (far from it) and he had to backtrack more than once, but he was pretty sure he got through most of what he needed to.

Then she asked about Vlad, her expression worried and wary. She had the right of it as far as he was concerned. He explained about their parent's portal in college and then had to wonder silently if Vlad had died at that point as well. He went on to explain that Vlad's obsession was their mother and more or less obtaining everything he possibly could. Danny even went off onto some theories he had about how that obsession came to be because Vlad didn't have any other family and had lost his chance to date Maddie and thus felt (likely still feels, in all actuality) like he had to take everything he wanted. The half-ghost also pointed out that Vlad was more than a little narcissistic and rather sociopathic, but Danny insisted that there was something redeemable in the man if they could only figure out how to get to him.

Jazz told him she'd think on that, and then asked him about ghosts in particular. At that point, Maddie called them down for dinner and they put their discussion on hold until after they'd eaten. It surprised Danny as to just how long they'd been talking and he couldn't help but be grateful for the break.

If their parents noticed they were both more subdued than normal, neither mentioned it. Although Maddie did ask Danny if he was feeling alright and if any strange symptoms had popped up. He didn't bite his lip, but it was a near thing. He felt he had to wait until after he'd at least started hunting ghosts before he told them, just so he could have some credibility to support his claim that he actually _could_ without their help.

"I'm fine, mom," he told her. She kissed his forehead, told him that they'd decided he would be grounded for three weeks, no computer, no television. He was mostly fine with that as he could just get updates he needed from Tucker, Sam or Jazz.

It felt refreshingly good to think that again.

Once he and Jazz got back to his room, they resumed their positions and he started explaining ghosts. He told her that every ghost had living origin, even if it went back generations, and that some ghosts had been around for ages (he still wasn't sure if Clockwork _had_ an age, but had simply been around since the first inklings of life). That didn't mean they were completely immortal. While it was harder to kill a ghost, it wasn't impossible and was usually far more permanent in that at least human souls continued to exist after death. That wasn't a guarantee for ghosts.

At that point, Jazz went on some tangent about how humans had souls and here was proof and how incredible it was and how it could revolutionize the scientific community. Danny just sat back and smiled until she calmed herself and asked him to continue.

He explained that not every ghost was the spirit of the dead. Some ghosts could actually procreate. That broke her brain for a bit until he explained that the longer a ghost existed, the more complex their ectoplasmic bodies became. At some point, they would have a fully functioning body that matched – and sometimes _exceeded –_ the complexity of whatever animal they were based off of. That's how a lot of the monsters from the ghost zone came into being, and why some ghosts could transform their shape and communicate via speaking, even if they weren't based on a human.

Some ghosts were the collective coalition of a thought or idea, some, the representation of a human emotion, and some had ghost parents and grandparents, but all ghosts had origins with the living. Even the random inanimate objects that became animate due to ghost energy could do so because of the consciousness (past or present) of the living that was attracted to the ectoplasm.

Then he told her about ghostly cores and how every ghost had one that consisted of their will and drive. It tended to be the motivation behind their obsession and would determine the powers that each ghost took on. Danny told her about his core and how it was ice-based, about how Vlad's was fire-based and how he'd met ghosts with electrical cores, some with wind cores and a few earth-based cores (although those were very rare). The rarest kind of core was more miscellaneous, dealing with an actual time or ideal, like Clockwork or Nocturne.

She'd filled more than half the notebook by that point, and Danny noticed it was approaching eleven pm. They didn't have school the next day, but he still suggested they take a break for the night. Jazz protested and pointed out that if they didn't have school tomorrow, it shouldn't be an issue.

Snorting, Danny decided to humor her, just this once, although on the condition that she agreed to not give her own names or titles to anything ghost-related for the next year. She frowned (out of confusion or annoyance, he wasn't sure – he didn't realize his sudden inability to sense human emotions would be this disconcerting) but agreed pretty easily. Danny considered that a win in his book and flipped off his light in case their parents came to check on them.

Then she asked him what his obsession was.

Danny froze in his stretched-out position, just returning from shutting off the light. After a moment, he turned and stared at her for several seconds. He must have remained silent for quite a while as she began to look rather uncomfortable. He mentally kicked himself. He may not want to talk about it (he never really did), but he'd promised her he'd explain it, so eventually, he got up and walked over to the window. Somehow, he didn't want to be looking at her when he told her.

"My obsession," he said softly, leaning his head against the cool glass of his window. "I have to protect people, Jazz. If I can't... I don't react well. I tend to manifest increasingly intense symptoms of PTSD – depression, mood swings, lashing out verbally and sometimes physically. I... don't like to admit how much of a ghost I really am. It makes me feel inhuman.

"I know that isn't true. I've spoken with the future you several times, Mom and Dad, Sam and Tucker... even Danielle. I've worked through a lot of it, but it's one of the things that I think will always make me uncomfortable." He finally turned around and looked at her, his eyes glowing in the darkness of the room. He heard her gasp, but she didn't say anything.

"I am a ghost."

Then he let the power fade. "And I am a human. I fit in both worlds and yet in neither. It... isn't an easy place to be."

"I'd imagine not," she said softly.

He knew he had to tell her everything now or he probably never would, so he forced himself to keep going. May as well be thorough about it.

"There was a point in the other timeline where I was given a choice. It wasn't anything that would normally decide the fate of the world, but... I chose wrong. Because of that choice, I watched my family die."

"What?!" Jazz asked.

Danny clutched at his shirt. "It was my fault and not only that, but I couldn't save them... couldn't save you. I lost everyone I truly cared about up until that point and... it destroyed me Jazz." He still remembered seeing the Nasty Burger exploding and remembered how utterly _hopeless_ he'd felt. It went beyond anything he could describe even now, and nothing had _actually happened_. No wonder his alternate self had been driven to extremes.

"I thought you said that you came back in time on accident," Jazz accused looking utterly horrified as she stared at him.

He took a deep breath and nodded, forcing himself to smile. "I have a friend... his name is Clockwork. He's... kind of the master of time, and while he normally can't interfere with anything, he was able to interfere with that. He saved my family to... well to save the world."

She looked more confused than ever, and he supposed he didn't blame her.

"I couldn't cope, Jazz. I was driven mad and I quite literally _destroyed the world _because of it. I left it in ruins. That's what happens when you just take away a ghost's obsession right before their eyes. Well, it's what happens when you take away a ghost's obsession period. They _break, _Jazz. And... I think that's why I want to help Vlad so much. He's... a lot like I was in that timeline; driving himself to obtain everything he can so hard that he eventually loses it all. He's slowly driving himself insane and I think he knows it but has no idea how to stop it. Which just adds to everything piled on his psyche."

His sister didn't seem to know what to say to that as she just stared at him with a blank expression for several seconds. He had to remember that this wasn't his Jazz who knew everything and had gone over this with him multiple times. He wanted her back more than anyone else right at that moment. He had to remind himself that this Jazz was 16, just barely getting into psychology and so focused on her own life that... well, maybe telling her all of this was expecting too much of her. He'd been so caught up in letting someone in on the secret – of regaining that support he'd lost – that he could very well have pushed too much on her too fast. Everyone had their limits, and this Jazz's weren't the same as her future counterpart.

Finally, he had to look away. "Say something," he muttered, trying to ignore the old fears that rose. Would she reject him now? Would she hate him? Would she tell his parents and then they'd conspire to take him down? His heart clenched and he realized that he'd rather enjoyed not having to worry about that in the future.

Then he felt her arms around him. "Oh, Danny..." she said softly.

He stood there in her embrace for several seconds, stiff as a board, before melting into it.

"The weight you carry on your shoulders..." she went on. "I couldn't imagine having that knowledge about myself. And I am _so_ proud of you. You've not only been surviving while carrying it, but it sounds like after that, you thrived."

Danny squeezed tighter. "It wasn't perfect," he said into her shoulder. "I had a lot of issues."

"Oh, of course you did, but did you ever have a problem with losing control of yourself like that again? Or your sanity?"

Once. When he'd broken up with Sam.

"And even if you did," she went on, apparently having read his non-answer correctly, "you still didn't _let _yourself lose that control. No matter how close you came, it never happened... I just... wow. I never realized that one day I'd be looking up to my little brother."

He squeezed her tighter, so grateful to have her here and supporting him again. So grateful for the warmth her words ignited in his heart – the warmth that spread through his body and gave him the courage he needed to continue.

He really did have the best family on the planet. No matter how crazy they were.

His eyes felt wet, but he didn't care. He just wanted to be there at that point with his sister and bask in the warmth and love and support that she offered.

Which is why, when he actually fell through her and hit the floor, they both yelped. She stumbled back and ended up tripping on a pile of clothes and falling back on his bed, hitting her head against the wall.

"Ow!" she said, rubbing her head, then looked down to see Danny staring up at her. Then, for no real reason, they both broke into laughter. Laughter full of relief and hope and support and promise. It was a bit of a surprise that their parents didn't come in and berate them, but it was likely they were working late in the lab.

Finally they calmed down and Danny climbed onto his bed to sit next to his still snickering sister.

"Hey, Jazz?" he said.

"Hmm?" she looked over at him.

"Thank you."

He didn't remember seeing a smile that warm and bright on her.

"You're welcome, little brother," she said as she ruffled his hair.

"Hey," he said playfully, pushing her hand away. "You know I'm technically older than you."

She raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Mentally, maybe. But physically, I'm still older than you and it counts."

He snickered again.

"Oh, that reminds me," she said suddenly, sitting up straight before turning and grabbing his hand in both of hers. "You have to tell me!"

He blinked at her actions for a few seconds before nodding. "Anything."

"What university did I get into?"

More blank blinks before Danny burst into laughter again.

Jazz pouted. "This isn't funny, Danny!"

He pounded his fist on his mattress. "But it is! It _so_ is!"

"Danny!" he hadn't heard her whine like that since the Youngblood incident.

It took him a great deal of effort to calm himself enough to answer her.

"Harvard. Mom and Dad were so proud."

Her eyes lit up and she squealed, grabbing Danny around the neck in a tight hug.

"J-Jazz! Only... half... ghost! Still... need to... _breathe_!" Eh, he was bluffing. He could phase out of her choke-hold if he really needed to, but it was the point of the matter.

"Sorry," she said, releasing him and looking rather sheepish as she rubbed the back of her head. "I just can't believe... wow!"

Danny chuckled. "You deserved it. I was kind of lucky to get into Amity College. But I did minor in psychology, just for you."

If anything, her returning grin looked even sunnier than it had before.

She actually squeed at that. "You mean I have you to talk about psychology with!" she asked excitedly. "As in, theory and application and... and... _everything?!_"

It was getting really hard to continually hold in his laughter. "Yup," he responded proudly.

"Then tell me who I should look out for! What kind of advances were made?! What can we do to help the psychology world advance early? Should we?"

It took all of his will to not let his lips twitch. He wasn't sure he succeeded. "And you want to be a brain surgeon?"

Jazz blushed and looked away. "Well... psychologist was #2 on my list."

He laughed out loud again, although his episode didn't last as long as the previous one. "Well, to answer your question, it's 2004 right now, right? Well, James Fallon will come out with something in a couple of years that will revolutionize the psychology world. He'll prove that psychopaths have a physical inability to feel empathy and that not every psychopath is violent."

The red-head's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. "Are you serious?"

Danny nodded smugly. "It's just the beginning of a re-structure of how psychopaths are looked at and treated and how they differ from sociopaths. People in the actual field of psychology don't even use the terms 'psychopath and sociopath' in professional vernacular less than a decade from now."

He could swear he saw stars in her eyes, and he just couldn't help but go on.

"It helped with our theories on ghostly psychology immensely."

Jazz blinked. "It did? How?"

"We realized that the equivalent of the center for empathy is the last thing to develop in a ghost most of the time as it often directly interferes with their obsession."

She didn't respond to that and Danny frowned a little as she just stared at him.

"Jazz?" he asked. "Jazz? Hello?" he waved a hand in front of her face, and while the room was dark, moonlight still streamed through the window. She could see him just fine.

"I... don't know if you're the cruelest little brother ever, or the kindest..." she said slowly.

Danny's frown deepened.

"Why do you say that?" he asked.

"Because," she said with a shaky voice, "you just made ghosts interesting."

He couldn't stop laughing for a full five minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I promise you that most chapters won't be this long from here on out. For better or worse. 
> 
> I think this is my longest chapter in the entire story. If you don't count my one-shots, probably the longest chapter in all multi-chapter fics. *rubs chin thoughtfully*
> 
> In any case, this is still unbeta'd. Thought I might have a beta reader, but haven't heard from them since (if you're still interested, I'm till happy to have you look through it). :)


	5. The Lunch Lady

Sam and Tucker had probably noticed his utter happiness on Monday. He was in such a good mood, he just couldn't help it. Jazz had dropped him off at school, and he'd promised her that if he needed anything, he'd call her.

Of course, that gave him some serious issues because _flip phones...really?_ But he supposed he should be grateful that he even had anything at this point. Besides, flip phones were far easier to replace than smart phones, and he'd likely need a lot of replacements in the near future.

Naturally, his mood change had Tucker and Sam on his case.

"Dude, I thought you'd be like upset or depressed after... you know..." Tucker said worriedly, glancing around as he did so.

Danny smiled. He appreciated the thought. "Well, yeah... I was," he said. "I mean, there are some pretty cool things I can do now that I couldn't before, but I'm still not sure whether I should keep this from my parents or not." Ugh, he hated lying to them. But that had been a legitimate question he'd asked himself the first time around. "Thing is, Jazz noticed... so I decided to tell her, you know as practice to gauge how my parents might react."

Sam and Tucker leaned back, expressions of horror on their faces.

"You did _what_?" Tucker asked loudly.

Sam glared at him and put a hand over his mouth. Then she glanced concernedly at Danny. "So... how did it go?"

"Great," he responded with a huge grin. "She now believes in ghosts, she's all for helping however she can and wants to actually counsel any ghosts I catch."

"She did _what?!_" Tucker yelled again.

Sam shushed him a second time, but she was staring at Danny in awe.

"I... I'm surprised she took it so well."

Danny rubbed the back of his head a little. "Well, she didn't at first, but once she wrapped her head around everything it was great! She says she'll cover for me with Mom and Dad and wants to categorize any ghosts we come across."

"Sounds boring," Tucker said dryly.

Danny just grinned and winked at him. "Which is why we leave it to her."

Sam and Tucker blinked at him then exchanged glances before turning their gaze back to him, both wearing smug smiles.

"Smooth, dude," Tucker replied, pointing his fingers at his best friend.

"I'm impressed, Danny. You used your head."

Danny chuckled, "Thanks... wait, hey!"

Sam just grinned wider and took off down the hall. "See you guys after school!" she yelled.

Tucker snorted in mirth and Danny rolled his eyes. Then he remembered what class came next and smiled. "Come on, Tuck. Math class!"

The techno-geek blinked and raised an eyebrow. "I thought you hated math."

"That's before I understood it!"

Tucker blinked again. "Wait, did the accident suddenly make you smarter?"

Well, he wasn't exactly _wrong,_ per se. Danny still shook his head. "No. I'm getting tutoring from Jazz. She wants to make sure I can keep up my grades if ghosts start coming through and no one else can stop them."

"Wait," the other boy stopped Danny. "You're going to try and stop ghosts? You mean, like a super hero?"

Danny smiled. "Why not? Now that that portal is open, who knows what will come through."

And there were the stars in his friend's eyes. "Dude... that is _so cool_."

"You think?" Danny asked, unable to hide his amusement at his friend's enthusiasm.

"It's _trippin'_!"

The blue-eyed boy cringed. "Tucker... please don't say that ever again."

xXx

Danny had his first real fight with the ectopi behind his father's back not long after that. Well, first in this timeline. He almost didn't have to go ghost to do it.

Too bad the ectopi weren't very intelligent (yet, he wondered how long it would take them to get there) so he was happy just to push them back into the ghost zone and let it be. Sam and Tucker couldn't stop staring at him and his father was... well, his father.

They managed to escape only a half hour later.

xXx

Danny had worked his ghost powers, _hard._ It had been almost two weeks and he was happy to see (and feel) a noticeable difference in his control and power output as compared to the first time. His exercise regime paid off (helped along by his ability to dodge more or less anything Dash could throw at him, much to the jock's consternation) and he also felt better physically as he upped his calorie intake as healthily as he could, although he couldn't seem to see an actual difference in his muscles – stupid core that was probably throwing his homeostasis off. Still, he must have been acting better – more confident maybe? – because his best friends noticed. That led him to explaining that because he was using more energy now, he had to take more in. Sam approved of most of his food choices while Tucker approved of the sheer amount, so he figured he'd struck the right balance between them.

That didn't stop the fact that Sam's initiative for a vegetarian school lunch went through and the school menu changed. The biggest shock was that Danny found himself _surprised_ at it again. Somehow, he hadn't expected things to escalate so quickly, but here he stood in the cafeteria line, staring down at the turfwich that had been placed on his plate. He mentally smacked himself because his parents had been working on the Fenton Ghost Finder this morning even. He should have remembered, fifteen years or not.

Sometimes he wondered if he'd ever really grown out of his idiocy phase.

Then he turned to Sam, folding his arms at her smug, superior look. "Sam, I know how Tucker eats is unhealthy and that you're worried for him."

"Hey!" Tucker said. Danny ignored him.

"But this has gone too far."

She frowned and her brow furrowed defensively. "I know it's not the best vegetable wise, but it's what the school board could afford."

So that they could have their own private meal in the staff room. Danny remembered that at least and they were going to regret that.

The trio walked to the table they usually sat at, Danny and Tucker both sitting across from and staring at Sam.

"Even if it's tasteless it's _good_ for people here," Sam went on. "Teenagers – especially the teenagers of Casper High – might as well eat pure garbage for all the nutrients they normally take in! I'm just trying to change that!"

Danny's eyes narrowed while Tucker stood up, fists balled.

"How could you?!" he yelled, but paused when he felt a hand on his arm and looked down to see his best friend sitting calmly and holding up a finger on his other hand, silently asking him to wait a second.

Tucker didn't want to sit down. He obviously wanted to rage... but he must have noticed something in his friend's eye because he slumped back to his seat.

Danny then turned to Sam, who looked at her friends suspiciously.

Then the half-ghost opened his mouth and said, in a high voice, "But sweetie, even if it's brighter than you normally wear, it's _good_ for you! Teenagers, especially the teenagers you hang out with, don't dress to our standards. We're just trying to change that! We just want you to be happy, so why don't you wear this pink dress." Then his voice went back to normal as he continued. "So tell me, Sam, how are you different from your parents again?"

Sam looked like he'd slapped her across the face.

"Th-that's completely different!"

"How?" Danny reiterated. "You're both trying to force other people to do things that _you_ think are right."

"I have science to back me up," Sam yelled as she stood, angrily staring down her best friend. "There is actual proof that vegetables are good – necessary even – in a diet! Show me where it says anything about pink dresses actually helping anybody!"

Danny stood himself, still as calm as ever, seemingly unaware that the entire school lunchroom was staring at them.

"Ignoring the fact that there is scientific proof that bright colors lighten moods and help people stay positive – hence why we see them in children's books and toys – you _know_ that I've had to up my caloric intake lately. With this new diet," he held up the turfwich, "which not only tastes _terrible_, but has almost no caloric value at all, that's going to be infinitely harder."

"We don't need meat!" Sam shouted.

"Some people do," Danny replied, still as calm as ever. "It's possible for most people to go into a vegetarian diet, but it's not recommended unless they've studied it themselves and have decided that's what's best for their lifestyle. Protein can be difficult to get on an all-veggie diet, especially if people have allergies. That, by the way, is also backed up by science."

Tucker was beaming. "Yeah, Danny! Meat for the win!"

Of course, that's when Danny rounded on him. "Don't think I'm blindly backing you either. All meat all the time is harmful and dangerous to human systems. You eat hamburgers. Those have vegetables on them, but you like them. It's possible to have good, tasty meals that aren't just meat. The reason Sam did this is because she's _worried _about you, and for good reason." Of course that was when his ghost sense had to go off, completely interrupting him. He sighed but managed to continue."Now why don't you two realize how you're _both_ wrong and _fix it_. I have to go fix problems of my own."

The entire cafeteria stared after him as he stalked over to the lunchroom door and walked inside. Most people were too shocked at Danny's out of character actions to really do anything. Even Dash stood near the food line holding a plate of dirt with his mouth hanging open. He'd been shocked to receive three mud pies, with actual mud, and would have gladly taken it out on Fenton if the dweeb hadn't caused a scene where he berated the whole thing, despite this happening because of his girlfriend.

"Whoa," he said, glancing down at the mud in front of him and rubbing the back of his head. "I never knew Fenton had it in him." He'd been about to go shove this in the dweeb's face, but... he figured he'd let it slide. Just this once.

xXx

Danny went ghost as soon as he walked into the lunchroom. He didn't know where the actual _living_ lunch lady was, but he did see the Lunch Lady Ghost floating there.

She turned around and saw Danny striding towards her.

"Hello, dearie," she said.

"You want to know if someone changed the menu?" he asked.

She seemed taken back for a second, but nodded. He sighed.

"No one is happy that the menu got changed like this," he said. "And honestly, I've already taken care of it. Well, as much as I can right now."

"You have?" the ghost asked, looking pleased.

Danny nodded. "Yeah. A friend of mine was worried about another friend of mine. She thought that changing the menu would help him. We've convinced her that it's a bad idea. Well, I think she's convinced. If she isn't, I'll keep at it until we get a little more variety back in the system.

"Until then... thanks for caring for the kids around here, even now. That's dedication I can look up to."

For several seconds, she just floated there, blinking at him. When she smiled a small smile after that, it was probably the most real thing Danny had ever seen on her face – in both lives. "I can't really help it, you know."

The half-ghost nodded a little sadly. "Yeah, I know."

"You're... different," she commented.

Danny raised an eyebrow. "Different from other ghosts? Or different from the other half-ghost?"

"Hmm. Both. How do you know of the other half-ghost, dearie?"

"He's... an old family friend. I didn't really know about him at all until recently." Well, in this timeline. "In any case, it's kind of dangerous for you to stay here. Would you like me to escort you back to the Ghost Zone?"

The green ghost frowned, then she smiled again, this time it was sickeningly sweet and far more on the creepy side than Danny would have liked. "I would like to stay until the menu is changed back."

Danny shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea. Not only are there actual ghost hunters here, with weapons that _can_ and _will_ hurt you, but there are humans who have no idea that ghosts actually exist. I'd like some time to try and prepare them a bit more before this all potentially goes to pot.

"Besides, I'm claiming Amity Park as my lair. I'd really prefer not to fight you for it."

She seemed taken back by his comment. "You are claiming part of the real world as your lair?" the old woman asked, confused. "And not a haunt?"

"Well, I am half human," he pointed out.

She didn't say anything.

Uncomfortable, Danny tried to explain further. "It's not official yet, but I'll be putting in the request with the Council soon. If they reject it, I'll count it as a haunt. If I'm lucky, I'll get either – or both, if I'm lucky – officially in the next decade or so." If he wasn't lucky, it could take several centuries. Knowing the Observants... His request had been extradited in the other timeline because of what he'd done to save both the Ghost Zone and the World. He wouldn't have that advantage in this one.

"So, you will enforce your rules under the claim law," she commented, leaning forward and looking Danny up and down. "Very well, honey. As long as you promise you'll try and change the menu back."

"It may not be exact, but I'll definitely try."

"I'll hold you to that. Cookie?" she held out a chocolate chip cookie.

"Thanks!" he said with a grin, taking the green-tinged cookie and biting into it happily.

"Perhaps I will go back to my lair and work on my cooking," she said after a few moments of watching the half-ghost eat.

"Your cooking's great!" Danny said as he plopped the last of the morsel into his mouth. "At least if this cookie is anything to go by."

"Aww, you're so sweet!" the Lunch Lady said as she reached down and pinched his cheek.

"Hey!" Danny protested.

"Are you sure you don't need help guarding your new lair?"

The white-haired teen blinked several times. "Did you just... offer to help me?"

"Why yes, sweetie. Some ghosts might not like that you're claiming the real world and will try to take it from you. I can introduce them to my _BALANCE DIET OF DOOM!_"

Danny snapped his fingers. "Almost made it through a conversation without the bi-polar switch."

"What was that sweetie?"

The half-ghost just sighed. "I'd love to make an alliance with you, as long as you're alright with me making more alliances at my discretion."

The green-skinned ghost rubbed her chin. "Unusual... but then, these are unusual circumstances, and you're an unusual ghost. For promising to help me, I'll agree, sweetie."

"Thanks!" Danny said, grinning widely. "Although, for now, I'm pretty sure I can defend Amity Park." He furrowed his brow, still grinning, and punched a fist into the palm of his other hand.

"Well, if you're sure. Come visit me sometime for cake and ice cream!"

"Sounds great!" Danny said. "Just, be careful on your way back. I don't want you to have a run in with the Fentons, and Walker patrols the territory right behind the portal."

The ghost's eyes widened. "Ooo, thank you for telling me! I will have to bring you more cookies."

Danny chuckled. "Don't feel obligated."

"Oh, you're such a nice boy."

Was it because he was in his 14-year-old body that he blushed? Yes, he decided. It was. It had to be.

The Lunch Lady waved as she phased through the roof and left. Danny, meanwhile, turned back into his human self and mentally patted himself on the back for a job well done.

"Did you just... talk a ghost down?"

Danny glanced over his shoulder to see Sam and Tucker standing just inside the door.

He nodded, just a little smugly. "Jazz is convinced that ghosts have human tendencies and psychology, despite what my parents say, so I decided to try her suggestion to just talk to the ghost. I think it worked rather well."

Tucker turned to Sam. "We're talking to Danny, here, right? I mean, I wouldn't trade my best friend for the world, but him and 'think things through' have never really gone in a sentence together."

"Hey!" Danny said indignantly.

"Yeah, that ghost thing has really made you... more mature? Confident?" Sam said, sounding like she was working through a puzzle.

"I guess dying will do that to you..." Tucker said, fading off at the end. Sam shot him a glare and he looked down, shuffling his feet a little.

"Guys, it's _okay,_" Danny said, reassuringly. "I'm still here, and that's what counts, right?"

"Yeah," Tucker said gratefully. Sam just nodded.

The half-ghost decided that now might be a good time to change the subject. "Now, how about you two? Have you worked your problems out?"

Tucker sighed. "Yeah. I promised to eat one serving of vegetables a day and Sam promised to talk the school board into changing the menu back."

The blue-eyed boy grinned and he hugged his best friends. "Awesome! Now let's go and prank the teachers for shunting the school food budget into the teacher's all-meat buffet."

Both Sam and Tucker looked utterly outraged at that. "They did _what_?!"

"They lied to me?" Sam asked, horrified. "It's an outright lie! I knew it! I need proof!"

"Did you say all meat? And they won't share it with us?!" Tucker practically bellowed. "_Not_ cool!"

"They are so going to regret this!" Sam yelled and Tucker nodded emphatically. Danny grinned and followed them into the hall. This should prove amusing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I got a couple of people who responded with offers to beta read, and I appreciate them all! LittleSnowyRascal9842 was the first, and we had a trial run and she seems to have taken to it well. Pointed out some minor mistakes, a couple of places where the story didn't mesh, etc. I'm very happy with what she's done. :) I may ask for another opinion in the future, but for now this seems to work. I'd like to thank her for doing this!
> 
> And thank you ALL for reading. Seriously, I couldn't do this without you.


	6. Dora

In the end, Danny wished he had his smartphone to record the reaction of the teachers when Tucker and Sam burst into the teacher's lounge, murder in their eyes. The Nokia flip-phone, however, _did_ take photos. Danny wasted no time in taking as many pictures as he could and trying to remember everything the teachers said. It didn't work too well as he couldn't talk-to-text and typing on the stupid dial pad was a nightmare. He didn't have a notebook on him either and he made a mental note to either buy a camera himself and carry it around or see if his parents didn't have one that came alive and tried to eat things.

Sam reamed the adults up one side and down the other, and when they tried to use 'authority' to shut her down, Danny held up his phone with a smile, informed them that he had pictures as proof and what would the local court think of the school shunting funds for the children's food into their own mouths.

He got it. Teachers had crappy jobs with lousy politics. That did _not_ excuse them for what they did.

In the end, they got the menu changed back with the promise that the school would make it healthier all around. Tucker was even able to record it on his PDA. Danny and his friends promised to keep it a secret if they just kept their promises and gave the kids the food they needed.

He was pretty sure he'd made some enemies among the teachers that day. Surprisingly enough, Mr. Lancer didn't seem like one of them. He'd actually looked... proud. Hadn't he been the one in charge of it all though? He thought that maybe he should look into that a bit more at a later date.

So the menu changed back rather quickly (apparently, they hadn't entirely used up all of the previous food they'd stocked up on before the change) and to Danny's surprise, he, Tucker and Sam became overnight celebrities. Funny what people focus on when two simultaneous protests and a ghost attack are avoided. He doubted it would last, and unlike last time, he _really_ didn't care.

When he got home and his parents were still working on the ghost finder, Jazz had to run interference, and considering the fact that they seemed to think she was a ghost didn't hurt. Well, him. He'd have to make it up to her later, and from the glare she shot him, she expected it to be good. Danny made a mental note to also let her know how grateful he was for her help.

With his parents focused on Jazz, he made it down to the basement pretty easily and tried to get the pictures from his flip phone onto the computer. Naturally, he didn't even have the right cords and couldn't figure out how to access his e-mail on the phone... if he even could. Frustrated, he looked up smartphones and found there were actually a few out there. It was funny, he wasn't even that addicted to his phone in the future, yet that was what he seemed to miss the most so far (well, next to his family and the relationships he'd had).

A couple of phone models cropped up in the general search (he had to use _Yahoo._.. Google didn't even exist as far as he could tell) but he was able to work with what he had, and after a little research (and _very_ long wait times for pages to even _load_), he realized he wanted to go with a T-mobile MDA III... well, he wanted that one until he looked at the price. His parents wouldn't spring for that right now. He may just have to deal with a Razr instead. He might be able to talk his parents into that one. And he wasn't about to get a job he'd constantly have to duck out of just to pay for a phone that would likely be out of date in six months anyway...

Ugh.

He still bookmarked the sites on the clunky, old desktop (his own computer didn't have internet access – what was this, the stone age?) and then tromped upstairs, trying not to be cranky. He reminded himself once again that he was actually kind of lucky to have a cell phone at all, but that didn't stop the fact that he was used to something else. In the future, he'd made it a habit of his to take pictures of his friends' faces when he surprised them and he liked having the ability to record things on the fly, especially if he needed proof that he hadn't said what some reporter had claimed. True, he didn't have that problem now, but he still felt awkward and kind of naked without it.

Maybe his generation _was_ too addicted to their smartphones...

He shook the thought away. It didn't really matter now. Phone or not, he'd deal.

His mother was almost done with dinner and his father was still working on the Fenton Ghost Finder when he entered the kitchen. Remembering how the thing had gone nuts when he'd walked through the door, he froze, ready to back away hurriedly. Fortunately, nothing happened and he breathed a sigh of relief. His father must have turned it off to work on it. Thankfully.

"Done so soon?" his mother asked when she saw him, a little surprised. "I thought I'd have to pry you away from that computer. I'm proud of you for not trying to get around your grounding."

Danny shrugged. "I did what I needed to do. Hey, do you guys happen to have a spare camera I can use? One I can record videos on?"

"You want a camera that records ghosts?!" his father asked, jumping up excitedly. Danny backed away from his father's over-zealousness.

"No. Just a camera. Not one that specifically records only ghosts, not one that repels ghosts, not one that captures ghosts, just a plain, old camera."

His father looked genuinely confused. "Why would you want something boring like that?"

His mom tapped her chin thoughtfully with one gloved hand. "Hmm. I think there were a few we tore apart but couldn't use. If you can put one of them back together again I don't see why you couldn't use it."

It wasn't ideal, but Danny would take it.

"Sure," he said happily. "Where can I find them?"

"I'll bring the box up after dinner. For now, could you please help your father clean up the table so we can set it?"

His dad looked rather like a kicked puppy at that, but Danny's mother paid him little mind.

"C'mon, dad," Danny said with a smile. His father had grown in the future, changed his biases against ghosts and become far more self aware, but some things would never change.

"But I was almost done!"

"Then an hour for dinner won't hurt."

"But—"

"He's right, Jack," the woman of the house turned around, hands on her hips and a frown on her lips.

The large man let out a long, over-emphasized sigh. "Fine." Well, Danny thought with amusement, he'd always known he'd gotten his penchant for dramatics from his father, but hadn't realized just how prevalent it was until now. His mother had always been far more of a 'function over form' kind of person, although she could definitely appreciate a good show.

He helped his dad put everything away (well, they managed to shove everything into a cardboard box and get it out of the way in any case) and have a nice meal of green-tinged meatloaf and green beans, with some store-bought rolls to go on the side. They had a nice family meal, although Jazz was late and shot her parents an angry glare before saying something about how they were lucky she could get their contraption out of her hair.

Once everyone had finished and his dad had safely ensconced himself in the Ghost Finder again, his mom brought up the box of camera parts. Danny balked at the number of electronic parts they had, but still thanked his mom and took the box upstairs to his room. He spent the evening going through everything inside the container and ended up so frustrated he wished he could contact Technus and finagle a deal of some kind to have him put all of this (or any of it) together again.

Actually, that wasn't a bad idea...

He'd have to think on that.

xXx

In the end, he wasn't able to put anything together, mainly because his parents had made a thorough mess of the cameras. Danny tended to be better at biology and physics than he was at electronics, but he knew enough to realize that he didn't have everything he needed for any single camera. Unfortunately, Sam wasn't big on electronics and Tucker was more of a software genius than a hardware genius. He wasn't even going to try Jazz who probably couldn't even wire a plug or light switch if her life depended on it. He was sure he could ask his parents, but doubted his camera project would be high on their list of priorities.

He couldn't get online (no phone, no laptop, no ipad... how did people _live _like this?), but he wondered what it would cost to take the camera in to get fixed. He didn't really have an allowance at this age, but maybe he could do some chores for his parents or something? That was how he'd gotten an allowance the first time... right?

It was kind of scary to realize just what of the little details he'd forgotten of his teenage years. Even with reminders. In the future, he'd written a journal that had eventually been published into a book, but he'd had to edit the content himself and he'd read the thing over many times to make sure it was publishable without condemning or embarrassing him to death. Thanks to that, he could remember a lot of his original ghost fights, but things like his allowance? He only remembered he hadn't gotten one until after he'd thought his parents were getting a divorce.

Well, the worst he could do was ask.

So, the next morning at breakfast, he spoke to his mother. To his pleasure, she said they'd be happy to pay him for any extra work he did around the house. It would be minuscule amounts, but that was better than nothing.

Which was how he found himself cleaning the basement the next Thursday morning while his father fished for ghosts. He'd been doing chores for his parents every night for almost a week and still didn't have nearly enough to work with. Then again, he was used to being sponsored and not needing money. Sure he hadn't been rich, but he hadn't exactly been poor either. And his parents had gotten quite the fortune for their ghost inventions. Even Jazz had done well for herself with her practice. None of them had any of that right now.

Repressing a sigh, he finished sweeping and threw the contents of the dustpan into the otherwise clear garbage bin he'd emptied earlier, before turning and looking around in satisfaction.

"Looking great, son!" his father called from the chair he'd sat up in front of the ghost portal. It took a lot of will to not flinch. How could his dad just sit there with the ghost portal _open_ like that. It may as well be an invitation for all kinds of ghosts to just come through and destroy everything. It got far more complicated in the future as they'd had to set up all sorts of fail safes to keep the unfriendly ghosts away. They'd even gotten what was more-or-less a door bell so the Fentons could tell when someone came knocking. There had been talks about setting it up as a checkpoint like the boarder to another country, despite all the red-tape that would create. Not that his parents would ever trust the government with their ghost portal again. Or any of their other weapons. Not even the Fenton Ghost Fisher... which his father currently had running into the open portal. Danny wanted to shake his head at the circular thinking. He remembered his father explaining the ghost fisher to him the first time around. His dad didn't often have time to kill, so he didn't often have time to fish, even for ghosts. Thankfully.

At least the half-ghost knew what was coming... more or less. He hoped he did in any case.

"Well, I'm done," he said as he put the broom and dustpan away before walking back to his father.

"You didn't mop."

"I mopped yesterday. It doesn't need it," Danny replied. "I'll do it next time."

Jack looked down at the very clean floor for a couple of seconds. "Alright, Dann-o. Let me... oh, that soda runs right through you like Sherman through Georgia. Hold this. I'll be right back."

Danny smacked his forehead. He knew his father running off wasn't an excuse to not follow up on their deal. If his dad really did forget or something, he'd talk to his mom. It wouldn't be a big issue. That didn't stop it from being annoying when his dad just rushed out on a conversation like that.

He was still staring after his father when he felt the tug he remembered on the fishing pole he held in his hand. He immediately turned his attention to it and pulled back on the cylinder in his hand _hard. _He reeled in and found himself staring at a very familiar dragon ghost.

"I WANT TO GO!"

He didn't make a witty comment... but it was a near thing. Instead, he transformed and dove for the ghost, easily dodging the massive claws she swatted at him. She was not on her game and he managed to grab her necklace and rip it off of her neck. It practically fell into his hands. Then he watched as she shrank down to her normal, also very familiar, form.

Opening red eyes, she looked up sadly at him.

"All I wanted was to go to the princes' costume ball... and my horrid mummy won't let me!" the princess practically wailed and went to disappear back into the ghost zone. Danny, however, had other ideas. He reached out and grabbed her arm before she vanished.

"Wait!" he said.

She paused, looking rather distraught. Danny held back a cringe, immediately releasing her. The whole ball thing must somehow be associated with her obsession. Funny, he never had figured out her actual obsession out in the future. Some ghosts, like Skulker and Ember, proudly proclaimed their obsession to the universe. Others, like Vlad and Walker were slightly more subtle... well, for ghosts. Still others were just plain obvious, like the Box Ghost and Clockwork. Then there were ghosts like Dorathea, Frostbite and Pandora who kept their obsessions hidden, or at least didn't proclaim them to the world.

Unfortunately, that would make this a little more difficult. Nothing he or Jazz couldn't handle, but still.

"Hey," he said soothingly, "why don't we talk about it."

"T-talk?" the ghost asked, confused.

"Yeah, it might make you feel better."

She blinked. "It... could?"

Danny nodded. "If you're willing."

He wasn't sure she would, but he was alright with that. And if she did, well all the better. Besides, humans didn't tend to like to spill their secrets to people they didn't know as many tended to see them as a vulnerability. Ghosts, on the other hand – even the reserved ones – often had a difficult time _not_ talking about their passions and triggers.

"Just a sec, k? I'm going to yell," he said to her, figuring a warning would help to not spook her. Then he turned and cupped his hands."Hey, Dad! I'll get my allowance later! Leaving the fisher here."

With that, he closed the door to the ghost zone, set the Fenton Fisher down across his father's chair and then jumped into the air, motioning for Dora to follow him upstairs.

"Go invisible through the next room, and visible in the room above that, please," he instructed and turned invisible himself. Still looking perplexed, she vanished as well and he shot through the roof just as his father reentered the room below. Talk about a close call.

He was glad he'd had Dora go invisible because his mother was in the kitchen, and they passed almost directly behind her. Once they reached the top floor, Danny found himself in the empty bathroom and let himself become visible again. Beside him, Dora did the same. He motioned for her to follow him through the wall and finally ended up in his own room, followed by the ghost princess not long after that.

"Sorry about that. My folks are kind of iffy on the subject of ghosts right now."

The green-skinned ghost studied him for several seconds. "Who are you?" she finally asked.

Danny smiled and stuck out his hand. "My name is Danny Phantom."

She blinked, looked at his hand, and then took it gently before elegantly curtsying, even lifting one side of her dress with her free hand. "Princess Dorathea."

Right. Medieval system, Princess, manners... that was all important to her right now. So he returned her curtsy with a bow. "A pleasure to meet you, M' Lady."

She seemed to calm a little at his words.

"You said something about your sister? And you... are different. I sense something... heavy about you. Are you part human? Is she part ghost too?"

Well, at least she'd gotten away from the half-manic state obsessions tended to put ghosts in.

In response, Danny took a deep breath. He'd heard from multiple ghosts that they sensed differences in him and figured that rumors of Plasmius had gotten around the Ghost Zone by the time he'd shown up. "No, she's fully human. Yes, I am half ghost, and it's kind of a long story, but let's just say that I was born human but am a hybrid now. I'd like you to meet my sister, actually. She's studying to be a psychologist for both humans and ghosts." Alright, she hadn't actually said that, but he'd be surprised if she didn't go into the field this time too.

"What is a... psy... colgist?"

"Someone who helps people when they're upset or have problems they can't work through themselves."

"There are people like that?" she asked, sounding amazed.

"Yup! And Jazz is gonna be one of the best!"

The ghost didn't answer for several seconds. Danny was content to wait.

Finally, she opened her mouth, looking nervous. "And you want me to... talk to you, and perhaps your sister?"

"If you're okay with that," Danny stressed.

"And you think it will... help?"

The half-ghost nodded. "At the very least you can get it all out and sometimes that helps people come up with solutions of their own. You can usually get a new perspective on something, a way of looking at it that you never thought of, and a way to move forward to either address and fix or work around whatever is causing you distress.

"But, ghost to ghost, I'd like to talk to you first and see what's going on. Like I said, my sister is human and really new to all of this and I'm... kind of protective." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Ghost to ghost..." she repeated thoughtfully. "I... suppose I could... talk."

Danny grinned. "Thanks. You won't regret it." He folded his legs under him and floated in the air. She did the same. "Alright, Princess, why don't you tell me what's going on. Something about... your mother?"

The distress in her expression returned and he tensed, ready to do something if she lost herself to the obsession. He was pretty sure that she was mentally strong enough to deal with it, if only for a little while, but better safe than sorry.

"Y-yes. S-she wouldn't l-let me go... So I sneaked out... and I fell..."

Danny held back another wince. Not a nice way to go.

"I... took my amulet with me... and it... wait... Where is it? It fell off! No! I cannot lose that! Do you have it?"

"It's right here," Danny said, holding it up, "and once I know you're calm, I'll happily give it back."

"No! It's mine! Give it back now!" she hissed as she leapt forward. Danny dodged easily and frowned.

Funny, he didn't remember her being so possessive of the thing the first time. He blamed her obsession again. Ghosts were not logical under the influence of their obsession. Well, there was nothing for it.

"Princess Dorathea!" he said in as commanding of a voice as a 14-year-old could manage. "I realize you are royalty and I will happily treat you as such, but you are also _not _in your realm right now! You are in what I claim as my lair and I expect you to act as such!"

The blond ghost paused mid-jump (literally) and blinked at him in surprise. Huh, that class on formal speech had helped him out after all. At least this Jazz wouldn't know to hold it over his head like she would have done in the future. It had been her suggestion, after all.

"Y-yes... of course. I... am sorry."

Danny immediately smiled, trying to soften his expression. "Don't worry about it. Things happen when people hit on our obsessions. I may only be half ghost, but trust me, I get it.

"So, you wanted to go to the ball... why?"

Again, she blinked at him like she didn't know what to make of him.

"Um... I don't remember."

The half-ghost sighed but nodded. She likely did remember but didn't want to talk about it. Not that he blamed her. He also wouldn't push her on something like that.

"From your dress, I'm guessing that was a while ago."

"Sixteen hundred years," she said softly.

Danny whistled. He'd known that already, but he wanted her to know he still found that impressive.

"So why was your obsession giving you issues now?" After 1600 years... he'd think that people would know to not trigger her.

"My... my brother is holding a ball. He... doesn't want me to go either."

Ah, yes... Aragon. Danny really wanted to have to have some words with the dragon prince.

"Why do you want to go so badly this time?"

"T-to meet someone."

Danny frowned. That didn't sound like the princess he remembered. "Why?"

"Th-that is the only way for me to leave my brother's house."

It clicked in Danny's mind and he realized just what was going on. "You're trapped," he said. At least, she felt that way – like there was no way for her to escape otherwise. He wondered just what had happened to change this Dora to the Dora from his memories, who had been ready to rebel and _win _against her brother with just a little prodding.

Her eyes lit up at his words. "You understand."

Danny sighed. "Yeah. More than you know. Alright, I think you can talk to Jazz as long as I'm there . Can you take a solid form?"

The princess nodded and she became more opaque.

"With human coloring?"

She cocked her head to one side, but then her skin faded from green to pink and her eyes from red to blue. Danny nodded. "Good."

"You wish for me to speak with your... psychogist sister?"

"Psychologist," Danny corrected, "and yeah. She's always had a sixth sense at where to start with things like this." And that had always been his weak point. He knew where _he'd_ want to start, but was usually unable to tell whether that was good for a patient or not.

"You would trust me, a ghost, around her?"

She must have caught onto his hinting that that was his obsession. He wasn't surprised. Dora was one of the more intelligent ghosts he had come across.

Danny looked at her hard. "Do I have your word that you will not try to overshadow or harm her in any way?"

Dora blinked and nodded. "You do."

She was rewarded with a huge grin. "Then I don't see an issue. We'll talk to her and figure out a solution to your problem. I may not be a Fairy Godmother, but we can probably come up with something."

More blinks of amazement. "You would... go out of your way to help me?"

The half-ghost smiled. "Yup."

The confusion was back. "I don't understand. Why?"

"Because it's the right thing to do. I think we can help you, so let us help you."

With that he detransformed and held out his very human hand. She looked down at it, then up at him, then down at the hand again. Tentatively, she reached out and took it. He grinned at her and led her out of his room. She followed without resistance.

A couple of seconds later, he stopped in front of his sister's room. The look on her face when she answered the door reminded him of why he was doing chores to begin with. That would have been a perfect picture!

Pushing the thought to the side, he gestured to the ghost beside him. "Jazz, this is Princess Dorathea... from the Ghost Zone."

The red-head just stared at them for several seconds. "The... Ghost Zone..."

"Yeah. She's from a medieval culture and I thought she'd like the perspective of a modern-age girl." He turned to the ghost behind him.

"He said you are a... psy-chol-o-gist?" She looked to Danny and he nodded, encouragingly.

Jazz blinked and waved her hands. "Oh, no! I'm not! Not yet... at least. People need _years_ of studying to become a good psychologist! Sure I've studied a bit, but I'm just 16."

The ghost blinked. "You... are? I'd forgotten how quickly humans age, it seems."

"Can we come in, Jazz?" Danny asked, eyeing the staircase at the end of the hall.

"Oh, right! Yes, please come in."

The two entered her room. Danny realized there was only one chair and a bed. He figured Dora might be a little more comfortable on the chair and held it out for her, gesturing for her to have a seat. She did so, daintily, and then sat there in an awkward silence while Danny sat on the bed next to his sister.

"Alright, Jazz, a couple of things. I know we've talked about it a little bit already, I need to make sure I didn't leave anything out. So, first, I want to go over exactly what ghosts are." He glanced at Dorathea. "You'll correct me if I'm wrong?"

She blinked and nodded. He figured it would be better for her to listen to and talk about something she understood rather than just get right into things.

"First, because most ghosts have at least a connection somewhere along the line to a human, ghost psychology tends to be very similar to human psychology. The main difference is that while a human body can affect that person's psychology, a ghost's body _is_ their psychology."

Jazz cocked her head to the side and opened her mouth to ask something, but shot a look at Dora before apparently rephrasing her question. "Can you explain that a bit?"

Danny nodded, having expected that. "So ectoplasm is what makes up a ghost's body. It's an actual substance and is found in the human body, although it isn't charged with ectoplasmic energy."

"What is ectoplasmic energy then?" she asked.

The half-ghost looked to Dora.

"Life force," the ghost answered. "Or what is left over when a life form passes on. It can also be the thoughts and feelings of those still living. They become attached to the loose ectoplasm dying spirits are drawn to and bind themselves to it. From thence, it begins to take on form."

Danny frowned a little, but decided he'd get into the semantics later. Instead he expounded on that thought. "It actually forms ectoplasmic cells that mimic what the spirit subconsciously remembers and over time becomes even more complex."

Jazz's eyes had gotten round. "Wow," she said softly. "And this happens... to every human?"

The two ghosts glanced at each other and then shook their heads. "No," Danny said. "That's one other thing that a ghost must have."

"I said the feelings bind themselves to the free ectoplasm," Dora said softly. "Forgive me, that is not entirely correct."

"The ectoplasm is the binder. It binds the energy from emotions and the actual will or emotion together," Danny said. That was what he'd wanted to correct earlier. He was glad his knowledge seemed to be up to date after all. He'd been a little confused himself there for a moment. "The will attracts the energy, but cannot hold it without the ectoplasm."

"The stronger the will, the stronger the ghost. This is how the first ghosts were formed, as far as we know," the princess explained.

"Later, as they became more complex, ghosts realized that they could reproduce," Danny went on, beginning to really hit his stride. He could talk about this for hours... and had been accused of 'blathering on about ghosts' more than once in the future. He really was more like his father than he cared to admit.

"And, as ghosts tend to eventually fade away, they leave residues of the energy and will that affect real-world objects that make their way into the ghost zone."

Jazz frowned. "Where do they go?"

The princess looked down while Danny just looked away. "We don't know. Most ghosts call it 'oblivion', but... I'd like to think they just pass on."

"I as well, Sir Phantom."

"Phantom?" Jazz asked.

"For my ghost form. It's easier to have a name for an alter ego."

"Oh," his sister replied, nodding.

"Getting back on track," Danny said, "the 'will' is the part of the ghost that makes up its core – its heart. It is more or less what a ghost is built around and it is part of their obsession. Obsessions have triggers that work a lot like human triggers to trauma."

"Varied and not entirely predictable, right?" Jazz asked.

Her brother just grinned. "And you say you're not good at this."

Jazz blushed, but didn't look displeased with the comment.

"The problem is," Danny continued, "Ghost obsessions are part of who they are. Without those obsessions, they fade. But said obsessions can be just as harmful to a ghost as any human obsession can be harmful to a person."

"So," the red-head said, tapping her chin with one finger thoughtfully, "the point is to help ghosts get well-adjusted. They still have their obsession – their core – but they deal with it in better ways."

Danny couldn't help it. He beamed. "Got it in one, Jazz! I always knew you were a natural at this."

"And this is how to help all ghosts?" Jazz asked, ignoring his comment, although her blush deepened. "Just to be sure we're on the same page."

This time, the half ghost felt both sets of eyes on him. "Not exactly..." he said slowly. "Some ghosts have extremely... unhealthy obsessions. Not just the obsession itself, but the desire it's built around. Like I know one ghosts who is obsessed with the thrill of the hunt. I know another who is obsessed with maintaining rules, no matter how helpful or hurtful those rules are. I know a ghost who wants to make people miserable so she can feed off of them and keep herself young. Pariah Dark was obsessed with more power and ruling and a couple of other ghosts I know of are obsessed with scaring people."

Jazz just raised an eyebrow and Danny went over what he'd just said.

"Oh, that obsession with scaring is... actually rather rare, believe it or not."

The other eyebrow rose to join its sister in mild surprise.

"In any case," Danny went on, "many ghosts are perfectly logical. They develop their own personalities and are content to just live their afterlives in peace, but when a ghost's obsession is triggered, they revert. Their obsession takes over and they stop thinking rationally. Since ghosts can be extremely powerful, this is not a... safe situation to be in for other ghosts or humans. Fortunately, Princess Dorathea, here, is one of the more level-headed ghosts you'll meet."

"I am?" the blond girl asked, eyes wide.

Danny grinned at her. "As far as I've seen."

"Aren't you a new ghost?"

The half-ghost shrugged. "I've been around more than you might think."

"Oh."

"So, Danny," Jazz cut in, "that's what we're trying to do here, help her plan out specific actions for when someone triggers her?"

"If that's okay with you," Danny said to Dorathea. "It's called 'behavioral therapy'. Well, it's a kind of behavioral therapy called 'behavioral modification'." Then he turned to Jazz, "Which fits because it's honestly like ghosts have a very specific form of BPD, and have difficulties regulating emotions when someone triggers them."

"BPD... Bipolar?" Jazz asked, a little unsurely.

Danny shook his head. "No, Borderline Personality Disorder. They're thinking about renaming it Emotional Regulation Disorder... or, well, they were. Er... will be?"

Jazz's eyes flicked over to Dora, who looked rather confused. Danny realized what he'd just said and wanted to smack his forehead. Right. Keeping his time-travel on the DL.

"Anyway, Princess Dorathea," Danny said to her, "the first thing we need you to do is, if you are alright with it, tell us about your trigger. I know you've already told me, and I can tell Jazz, but it works better if you tell her yourself."

So she did. Danny was actually very proud of her for being able to tell Jazz about her death as calmly as she did, even if it was a struggle.

Jazz looked a little pale and then turned to Danny, "Do all ghostly obsessions revolve around the trauma of one's death?"

Danny sighed. "It's not uncommon, but there are other ways to get an obsession. Sometimes it leaks over from a person's life. Ghosts that are born often inherit their parents' obsessions, one or the other or a combination thereof." He thought of Box Lunch and repressed a shudder. "Sometimes a ghost receives their obsession right after death, and it has nothing to do with their death – although this is rare – and sometimes, even more rarely, obsessions change."

"I've... never met a ghost with a changed obsession," Dora said slowly, blinking multiple times.

"Really?" Danny asked her, tilting his head to one side. "I've met a couple. They're usually ancient and their powers have changed over time. From what I understand, Pariah Dark was like that."

Her brow furrowed a little. "How do you know of the ghost king?"

Danny's smile turned nostalgic. "A friend told me about him. Another ghost whose obsession has changed over time."

"Who is that?"

"Clockwork."

Dorathea lost her concentration and her transformation, reverting to that of a ghost. Jazz squeaked and jumped in surprise. The Princess, however, focused hard on Danny.

"You know the Master of Time?"

Danny rubbed the back of his head. "Er... yeah."

"And his power has changed?"

The half-ghost rubbed his arm uncomfortably. "Um, I don't think he'll mind me saying that his powers have changed over time, but I don't think it's my place to say anything specific."

"Oh."

"And... could you, you know, change back?" Danny asked. "In case my mom walks in or something?"

Dora looked down and saw she'd reverted back to her ghostly form. "Oh, forgive me." She faded back to the more human look.

"Anyway," Danny said, trying to get back on track yet again. "The point is that trying to artificially change a ghost's obsession is dangerous for the ghost. Like afterlife-threatening kind of dangerous. Some ghosts want to come to terms with their obsessions and move on, but most ghosts are pretty happy living their afterlives as they do. Which is why we look for ways to help _deal_ with the obsessions instead of resolve or change them if we can. It should be a ghost's choice to move on or not, not anyone else's. "

Dorathea frowned. "But it is... difficult for me to even think when someone brings up my trigger."

Well, that was one thing Danny had always been glad for. Aragon's realm may have been trapped in the dark ages, but their language had at least evolved with the times. Either that, or she was speaking as a ghost and it just automatically translated in their minds. He wondered why she could keep up with ideas of triggers but didn't know the word 'psychologist'. He blamed Aragon for that one too.

"That's why we need to break it down into something simple," Danny said. "I have a similar problem myself."

Jazz looked surprised. "With your obsession? But while you were... uncomfortable talking about it last night, you didn't seem to have any problems with PTSD triggers or any manic signs..."

Danny looked away. "It's... taken some practice, Jazz."

"Oh."

The half-ghost blushed a little. "Remember... when I talked about... um... _that. _About _him_... When I can't protect people... it isn't pretty."

"But... Danny, you can't save everyone," his sister stated worriedly.

Danny sighed. "I know. And I deal with it a bit better because I'm half human and have a pretty great support system." He smiled at his sister before turning to Dora. "Please don't spread that around. I'd prefer ghosts don't know. It'll be obvious enough soon enough, but the longer it takes to get around, the better."

The ghost blinked. "Of course, Sir Phantom."

"I'm not knighted, you know," he said, looking for anything to redirect the conversation. "You don't have to call me 'Sir'."

Dora cocked her head to one side. "But you are going out of your way to help me. If that is not a sign of chivalry, I do not know what is."

"That doesn't stop the fact that I still haven't been knighted." Not that he minded her calling him 'Sir Phantom' as she had in the future. There had been an official decree and ceremony and everything. But that hadn't happened here.

"Very well, what would you like me to call you?"

"Just Phantom. Or Danny, if you like."

The ghost blinked, then smiled herself. "Then you may call me Dora if you like." She turned to Jazz. "You as well."

Jazz bit her lip. "I... don't know. I mean, I would love to, but if we're going to be even remotely professional, there needs to be a distance."

Danny had never really understood that rule, but Jazz had been adamant, even in the future, so that didn't come as a surprise. "How about this," he said. "When we're not in session, she can call you Jazz and you can call her Dora. But when we're in a session, it's Ms. Fenton and Dorathea?"

Jazz thought about it for a moment. Then she nodded. "Yes. I can agree with that."

Danny turned to Dora. "I can agree as well," she replied with a nod of her head.

He grinned at her. "Alright then. So, getting back to behaviors again. You said that you want to talk about it – that you want to feel better, right?"

Dora looked between them for a couple of minutes before nodding. "I... hate the lack of control that I have when I get like that. It is difficult for me to control my powers and the amulet reacts."

"Amulet?" Jazz asked.

Danny shuffled in his pocket and pulled the necklace out. "This. It's one of Dora's powers as a ghost." This amulet can transform her into a dragon."

He looked to the princess in question and Jazz followed his gaze.

"Indeed," Dora said. "Normally it is merely an extension of my power. But it also transforms under extreme emotional duress."

"Like anger resulting from a trigger."

The princess nodded again, her fists clenched.

"Is that what you meant by the lack of control?"

Again, she nodded. "I have so little control over the rest of my after-life, I don't like losing control with this too."

Jazz frowned. "The rest of your after-life?"

Dora sighed. "Perhaps I should explain from the beginning."

xXx

She did and Jazz was, unsurprisingly, incensed. She went on a rant about rights and equality and _why _we as a society got out of the dark ages for almost ten full minutes before Danny could stop her. She probably could have gone on for quite a while longer too. Dora looked shocked and just kind of stared at them both. She also looked a little overwhelmed, so Danny decided to, yet again, bring everything back to the behavioral therapy and began throwing out ideas that would appeal to a ghost but was healthier than turning into a dragon and rampaging.

The first thing they came up with was her turning into a dragon more often under normal circumstances. She told them it was looked down on in her society, but she would try to find time to train as a dragon.

The second thing they came up with was actually the dance Danny knew would be coming up soon as a reward if she was able to keep her temper in check. She told them she would just repeat that she'd promised them she would try to not get so upset about it in her mind whenever she felt she was getting too angry to control the medallion. She would also do her best to remember that she would be able to go to _a _ball if she was able to control her temper.

The last thing they came up with was a journal. They encouraged her to write in one to keep track of herself, but also to write down what made her angry and why. Both Jazz and Danny were convinced that once she remembered _why_ she wanted to go to the ball, it would stop being a trigger. It most likely wouldn't fix the underlying problem, but it would be a step in the right direction.

Then they encouraged her to come back whenever she needed to (but to be careful of their parents) but they stressed the 'need' part, if only to keep everyone involved safe. Since the dance happened the next day, she would be there earlier tomorrow with a progress report. Then Dora said goodbye to Jazz and Danny escorted her to the portal after he was sure his father had given up ghost fishing for the day.

"I already feel better," she admitted as Danny handed over her medallion. She took it and some tenseness he hadn't even noticed left her shoulders as she clutched it to her chest.

Danny smiled. "Good. Remember, don't let your brother know about the dance." He suspected Aragon was keeping her back on purpose, the abusive, chauvinistic son of a... No, he couldn't lose his own temper in front of her. That would be a level of hypocrisy he was not willing to sink to right now.

"Of course." Then she gave him a smile and leaned forward to kiss his cheek. "I'm so glad our newest half-ghost is a hero."

He smiled back at her. She'd thanked him like that before... er, in the future (and wasn't that just getting annoying to think about) and so was sure she didn't mean anything by it other than gratitude.

"Nah, I'm not a hero," he replied sheepishly. "I'd rather not have some tragic hero ending, after all." That was probably the one thing he'd taken with him from his high-school English classes, and it had stuck with him through the years. He'd since advocated that he was an average Joe who happened to get ghost powers and just wanted to do some good with them. "In any case, I'm looking forward to going to the dance with you."

"And I you," she said, waving the notebook they'd given her at him as she went to float into the ghost zone.

"Oh, and be careful with that thing. If Walker sees it, you might get in trouble."

"I will keep that in mind," she said. "Farewell, Danny."

"Bye, Dora. See you tomorrow." Again, she nodded. With that, she vanished and Danny turned away. He closed the door of the Ghost Zone before turning intangible and heading up to the second floor yet again, just in time to be called down for dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Thanks to LittleSnowyRascal9842 for helping me by beta reading! :D


	7. Before the Dance

"Let's see, Ashley... no. Veronica... no. Betty... no," Tucker muttered as he checked off his list on his PDA.

Danny sighed as he closed his locker. "Ask Sam."

Next to him, his best friend blinked. "Why should I? She said she didn't want to go."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Please, with that fake chuckle at lunch and how she went on about the dress her parents actually bought her – you know, the one she hasn't completely avoided mentioning like she does with every other dress her family tries to force down her throat. I'll bet it was a compromise dress and she's a little embarrassed that she actually _wants_ to wear something her parents got her."

Tucker frowned down at his PDA. "You think so?"

"I'm positive."

"Then why don't _you_ ask her out?"

Danny shrugged. "I already have a date."

His friends eyes got comically wide. "No way! Who?"

"She doesn't go to this school," Danny said with a secretive grin. "And her name's Dorathea. Dora for short." Although... come to think of it, Dora looked a little older than a high-school kid. Could they change that? He knew Sam could do some amazing things with makeup, could Jazz?

Tucker snorted, bringing the half-ghost out of his short reverie. "Like, 'Dora the Explorer'?"

Danny rolled his eyes. "No. She likes... er... cosplay. Medieval cosplay."

"Cosplay?"

Wait, wasn't that a thing? Tucker had never been into it in the future, but it was still a staple of geek culture... and it went way back, didn't it? "Um, yeah."

"Oh, wait! As in dressing up like your favorite character?" Tucker asked, a little skeptically.

Danny let out an internal sigh of relief. "Yeah."

His best friend nodded. "Cool. How did you meet her?"

"Well... um... through... the ghost zone?" He really didn't have another lie made up right now, and since they knew about ghosts anyway, this shouldn't be too much of a problem... right?

Tucker froze and turned to Danny, eyes wide. "Dude, you're going on a date, with a _ghost_?"

"Tucker! Shhh!" Danny hissed, looking around. Thankfully, it didn't seem like anyone was paying them attention. It seemed like their 15 minutes of fame for getting the lunch menu back online was over and done with because it looked like they were back to being invisible on the social scale. Good. "Yeah. I am. She has a trigger dealing with parties and balls and is never allowed to go to them, so I asked her to the dance."

The African-American frowned. "Wait, you asked her to the dance just to _help_ her."

"Yeah. Why not?"

"And you don't think you're leading her on?"

Danny balked, honestly shocked. "What? No! We're not like that!"

Tucker actually groaned. "Clueless."

"I'm not!" the half-ghost responded heatedly. "I'll even talk to her about it. I'm not in the market for a relationship right now, Tucker. Don't you think I have a little much on my plate for that?"

The techno-geek looked scandalized. "There is never too much on your plate to justify ignoring girls!"

Danny groaned.

"Are your parents okay with this? I mean, aren't you still grounded?"

"Yeah, I asked them about it, and Mom said she was impressed with how I've been acting, so they'd make an exception. They likely would have anyway." They had last time, after all. Admittedly, part of that was likely because his parents were chaperoning and he'd overshadowed his father... something he definitely wanted to avoid doing.

"Okay, cool. So," Tucker said tentatively, "You think that will help her? The ghost, I mean."

"Yeah," Danny nodded. "I do."

"Help who?" Danny turned around and saw Sam approaching them.

"Danny's going to the dance with a ghost."

Sam's jaw dropped, then she turned to the boy in question. "You are?"

The time-traveler sighed, knowing he wouldn't get out of this until he told them. "Let me tell you guys what happened on the way home," he said, nodding towards the door. "Well, on the way to the store. I have to see if someone can fix this," he held up the little camera recorder.

"Where did you get that?" Tucker asked. "That's a pretty high-end model."

"My parents. They tore it apart for some reason, and I can't get it to work. Pretty sure it's missing something."

"Why do you want a camera?" Sam asked.

Danny grinned. "No reason."

xXx

So he filled them in on the way to the store, telling them about Dora and even giving them a run-down of what obsessions are like. They also wanted to know if he had one. He could only tell them he thought he did, but that was okay. He told them that Dora said it was natural for a ghost, and since he's part ghost now, it was normal for him, too. They seemed a little skeptical, but otherwise took it at face-value.

He'd just finished his explanation when they got to the local electronics store, where the worker told him that yes, they could fix it, and it would be for a price he could actually afford, although they'd have to see what was wrong and send out for any parts. It would likely take a couple of weeks to get it back to him. It wasn't the best news, but it wasn't horrible either, so he thanked the man anyway, gave him his number and left to walk home with Sam and Tuck.

"So, you really are going to the dance with this 'Dorathea' ghost?" Sam asked.

"Yup," Danny replied. "I think you guys will like her. And I think she could use some exposure to the modern world. People don't tend to think that women have any rights where she comes from."

"What?" Sam screeched.

Danny grinned. That was one of his friends on his side.

xXx

"Hey, Sam... do you want to go to the ball?" Danny heard Tucker ask as he went to round a corner. He froze and backtracked before they could see him, peeking around the edge of the wall.

"What? I told you. Of course I don't!"

"Oh. Because, well, I can't seem to find another date, so I was hoping you'd come... you know... for me?"

A beat of silence. "Well, if it's for you, I guess I'll wear that dumb dress my parents got." Yup, she sounded just as excited as he remembered.

"Great! I'll pick you up at 5:30?"

"Sure! I'll wear shoes I can walk in so we don't have to be chaperoned."

Danny peeked around the corner and saw both of his friends grinning dopey grins. "Success," he muttered to himself.

And there wasn't even a comment about pants involved. Seeing as he'd done his best to keep such accidents from happening this time and had only had a couple of instances where he'd lost control (it was _hard_ to try and control his ectoplasmic energy when his core was still unsettled), that made it a double success in his opinion.

xXx

"So, were you able to write in your journal yesterday, like we asked?" Jazz asked as she, Danny and Dora sat in Jazz's room again. Jazz had her own notebook out and Danny had her psychology textbooks there for reference. It was kind of amazing what she did with her spare time as she'd checked these out of the library and was already half way through reading them. On top of her school work.

And everyone thought _he_ had the super powers.

"I was," Dora replied, holding the notebook to her chest. "Although it was rather difficult to keep this from my maidservants. It kept falling through things. I had to put ghost energy into it regularly just to keep it in place while I was absent of my room."

Danny eyed the book skeptically. It seemed that they'd have to keep an eye on it to see if it developed any sentience.

"Did you lose control at any time?"

Dora looked away. "No. But... once, while talking to my brother, it was a near thing."

"Hmm. Why do you think that is?" Jazz asked.

"Just what he said to me, knowing I cannot fight back."

Danny and Jazz exchanged glances. Now was not the time to address that, but he saw Jazz write down a note and knew they'd be coming back to it when Dora was more open to the possibilities.

"What did he say, exactly?"

"He... refuses to let me... attend the ball," the princess said through grit teeth. Danny saw her eyes change to slit pupils and prepared to go ghost if he had to.

"You said it!" Jazz practically cheered. "You spoke about something associated with your obsession and didn't give in!"

Dora's eyes returned to normal and she blinked at Jazz. Then she looked down at her amulet. "I... did. Didn't I."

"Great job, Dora," Danny reiterated, smiling. The ghost girl ducked her head, but looked pleased.

"Does your brother know of your obsession?" Jazz asked, moving on with the questions.

"Yes," Dora replied. "Unfortunately."

"Wait," Danny said, his voice going cold. He held up his finger as his mind processed what she'd just said. "You mean to tell me that your brother knows about your obsession and _purposefully_ tries to bait you with it? And he's been doing it for 1600 _years_?" Sometimes he hated being right. He knew his eyes were glowing, and he was _this_ close to heading into the ghost zone to take out Aragon himself. Then he took a deep breath. He knew this was something Dora had to overcome on her own. He couldn't go in and rescue everyone, no matter how much he wanted to. In the long run, people had to learn to save themselves. He was just there to give them the extended time to do so.

It didn't stop him from wanting to rescue everyone, though.

Dora wasn't the only one who had to work on her triggers.

"Well, I've been putting up with his attitude for 1600 years, but, it's only been in the recent 500 years or so that it got really bad. I was thinking about it, last night, and perhaps his own obsession has changed. It used to be about collecting rare things, but he'll collect... well, just about anything these days, rare or not."

"Never let him meet Skulker," Danny muttered. "If the two of them joined forces, nothing unique or rare would ever be safe."

"What was that, Sir... um, Danny?"

The half ghost looked up with a smile he hoped didn't look too fake. "Nothing. Please, continue."

"Well, my brother used to be a bit of a recluse. For almost a thousand years, he would lock himself away. His retainers and I were left to run the kingdom in his stead."

"Mainly dealing with safety and sanctuary, right?" Danny asked.

Dora nodded. "Correct."

Jazz looked a little confused. "What do you mean?"

"Ghosts feed on ectoplasmic energy, which in turn comes from feelings and emotions. The Ghost Zone is full of residual ecto-energy from thousands of years of collecting the excess human emotion. Then it got a little more complex, but suffice it to say, Ghosts don't really have to consciously eat unless they want more power – although that has dangers of its own. Some go directly to the source – humans – and feed off of them and their emotions. Others feed off of other ghosts – emotionally or literally. But there are problems with gaining energy quickly, mainly because it's unstable and difficult to control. It can drive ghosts mad if they aren't careful. Most ghosts don't bother because they just want to be left alone. Those ghosts slowly but steadily grow stronger over time simply by being in the Ghost Zone."

"So, that's what you meant when you said that the Ghost Zone is directly dependent on human feelings and thus dependent on Earth."

Danny and Dora both nodded.

"How is that possible?"

The two ghosts exchanged glances. "We're not entirely... sure," Dora said slowly.

"Frost... er... some ghosts I know theorize that the ghost zone exists because of humans. When the first animals that came into being could consciously feel, they unwittingly released energy from those emotions, but the excess caused a disruption in the power balance of the world. So someone, somewhere along the line, was able to take that energy and create an alternate dimension that automatically collects the residual energy from emotions."

Dora blinked at him. "Did Sir Clockwork tell you that?"

Danny shook his head, looking a little put out. "He didn't. He won't confirm one way or the other. Says it's too dangerous to know all the details or even if it's true."

"Ah, I see," the princess nodded thoughtfully.

"In any case, ghosts don't need to eat, they don't need to sleep – although many do just because it passes the time. What they need is sanctuary. Ghosts have lairs, but those lairs can be invaded by stronger ghosts. But if you band together, especially under strong ghosts like Dora here..."

"Then it makes it more difficult for other ghosts to invade and try to hurt or feed off of them."

Danny nodded. "Sanctuary is the nearest thing to a physical need that ghosts have."

Jazz blinked. "That throws the hierarchy of needs right out the window."

At that, Danny chuckled. "Not really. It's just that most ghosts get their basic needs to survive met in the ghost zone. Throw them onto Earth and your hierarchy of needs comes right back into play. They have to feed just like anyone."

The red-head turned to her brother. "Do you?"

Danny sat back, looking a little smug. "Well, that's just it. I'm half human. So as long as I keep up my health on my human side – get the sleep I need, eat what I need, etc. – my ghost side absorbs the excess energy of my own human emotions. That's why half-ghosts tend to be so powerful. We have a source of energy our body is used to right there – ourselves."

"That sounds... a little strange," Jazz stated

The half-ghost shrugged. "It is what it is. I can't change it, and it works. It's part of what keeps me in a stable state and it has its drawbacks too. My basic needs for my human body go up – like my food intake. I need to eat a lot more to keep up the steady pace of growth. Otherwise, my ghost-side can overwhelm my human side. If I focus too much on my human side, the ghost-powers build up without a release and force themselves out on their own. It's a bit of a balancing act.

"But as fascinating as that is, shouldn't we be focusing on Dora here?"

Jazz blinked. "Oh, right! Sorry!" Danny shook his head. His Jazz from the future would never let herself get side-tracked like that. That actually showed her inexperience more than just about anything else he'd seen.

"So, your brother purposefully picks at your trigger lately."

Dora nodded. "Yes."

"And do you remember why your mother wouldn't let you go to the ball?"

"I... think I was too young..." Dora said, tensing up and beginning to struggle visibly again. Her eyes didn't slit, but that probably said more about her will power than anything else. "I... wanted to go... like... my brother."

Danny felt his veins freeze, and it had nothing to do with his ice powers. "How... old were you?"

"I believe... I was ten when..." she faded off. "I couldn't have been more than twelve."

"You look incredibly good for your age then," Danny joked, trying to keep things a little lighter. Jazz shot him a scathing look. "Sorry," he muttered.

"Your mother wouldn't let you go because you were too young," Jazz wrote down. "Are you sure about that?"

Dora shook her head. "No. I only remember bits and pieces."

"Hmm," Jazz said, tapping her lips with her pencil. Danny wanted to laugh. She did that in the future too. "Is your brother from the story your brother now?"

The ghost nodded. "Yes. My brother, who was sickly, joined me shortly after my own accident. We... defended each other to begin with, and once we got powerful enough, we built our own lair – our own castle. Eventually other ghosts came to ask us for sanctuary and we began to build our kingdom."

"And then he became reclusive?" Danny asked, curious.

"No. He was always reclusive. Habits from his life, I suppose. Despite wanting his own kingdom, he was wary of other ghosts. He didn't want to let any others in at first, but I convinced him. His only requirement was that we use our powers over the lair to freeze time. It would be easier to hide ourselves from more powerful ghosts."

"Like Pariah Dark?"

Dora nodded. "He was only sealed about a thousand years ago."

"Only?" Jazz asked.

"Jazz," Danny said, "Ghosts are more or less immortal, remember? There are ways for them to die – naturally even – but their afterlives are nowhere near as predictable as our human lives are. Some ghosts come into being and fade after a couple of months. Others... well, I don't know how old Clockwork really is. I know the Observants are old themselves and the Fright Knight and Pariah Dark..."

The red-head jotted something down. "You know what, I'm coming back to that later. Right now, continue, Dora."

The blond nodded. "Despite his reclusive nature, he would occasionally venture out into the Ghost Zone and even the human world when he could find a portal. It didn't happen often, but every time he did, he came back with something rare and unique. I'm... not sure how he got them, or why he wanted them, but I believe that is his current obsession. At times it overcomes his fear and he must venture out to fulfill the need his obsession creates."

"That... makes sense," Danny said thoughtfully. "So you think his obsession began to change?"

"Yes. He got to a point where he wanted more of... well, everything, not just the exceptionally rare. More power, more land, more prestige... Just... more. He still craves the exceptionally rare, but it is only a part of his obsession now."

Danny sighed and looked at Jazz. "That's what I mean when I say ghostly obsessions can be just as damaging and dangerous to ghosts as they are to humans, even if they are necessary for their very survival."

"I see," Jazz said thoughtfully. Then she looked over at Dora. "Why didn't you ever hold a ball? When your brother was reclusive."

"Well... it was... difficult for me to speak of without..."

"Going dragon?" Danny asked wryly.

Dora nodded. "So it was an... avoided subject for a very long time."

Jazz scrutinized their guest with a marginally worried expression. "Will going to the dance with Danny tonight fulfill your... obsession? Cause you to start fading?"

The ghost girl's eyes widened. "I... didn't think of that."

"I don't think it will," Danny said slowly.

Both girls looked over at him.

"I think your need to go to the ball is a holdover from your death, but also more of a trigger than your actual obsession. You were always chasing your brother – always looking up to him. You wanted to go to the ball because he was going. You admired him – wanted to be like him. That's why you sneaked out, am I right?"

Dora blinked at him, then looked down at her folded hands. "I... yes, I suppose so."

"I think your obsession all along was being the kind of person your brother would want you to be... but Dora, I think your obsession has changed too. When you spoke of the kingdom you created with your brother, you spoke with such love. It's what made you happy. I think your kingdom is your obsession now. And now that he's changed and is potentially endangering your kingdom, that's part of what's bringing up your triggers. And you still have holdovers from your old obsession lingering in there somewhere, which is why your old triggers are still difficult to control."

Jazz blinked. "Ghost obsessions can be that complex?" she asked.

"I told you, the older the ghost, the more complex and human-like they become, surpassing humans in some ways even. Besides, humans can have more than one obsession, so why not ghosts too?"

"Wow," his sister muttered and wrote some more notes. Danny just grinned at her.

"You... may be right, Danny. Me being able to even speak of my trigger without flying into a rage so soon after it was brought up..."

"It's only one possible solution, though," Jazz said sternly. "Look, we've given you one way that things may not be as they seem. Your homework this week is to think of other things that might prove or disprove our theory. See if you can remember more of your previous life. Explore your obsession as much as you can without hurting anyone, and see what you come up with." She held her hand out and Dora passed her the notebook she had. Jazz wrote the 'homework' inside the book before handing it back.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

Dora thought about it for a moment before a small smile came to her lips. "Better."

"Good. Because we have to get you ready for tonight," Jazz said with a grin.

"About that..." Danny said slowly, "Dora, you tend to look like you're in your twenties normally. That might be a little... awkward to explain."

"I can change to look a little younger for a while," Dora assured him. "As long as it isn't more than a couple of hours, I'm sure I can hold out."

Danny relaxed and smiled. "Great. " Then he turned to his sister, "Are you going too, Jazz?"

Jazz waved her hand. "Nah. That doesn't mean I can't help Dora get ready. I do have some dresses we can look at from a couple of dances I've attended."

She rounded on her brother. "As for you, Danny, out. Out, out, out."

"It'll take me maybe fifteen minutes to get ready. What am I supposed to do until then?" he asked. He did not whine, no matter what Jazz said later.

"Don't know. Don't care."

"But-"

Before he could say anything else, Jazz pushed him out of her room and slammed the door behind him.

For several seconds, he just stood there, dumbfounded, staring at the painted wood. Then he sighed, took out his phone and called Tucker.

xXx

"Mom, Dad... this is my date, Dorathea," Danny said, nervously introducing his ghostly date to his ghost-hunting parents. He knew very well how badly this could go if they weren't careful enough.

"It's a pleasure to meet you! What do you know about ghosts?!" his dad blurted out, getting right into Dora's face.

"Dad!" Danny practically growled, pushing him back. At least they weren't chaperoning this time.

"Isn't that one of Jazz's dresses?" his mom asked.

"Yeah... she... didn't really have the money for one, and Jazz wasn't going, so she offered to let Dora wear one of hers." And she looked good in the sky-blue, v-necked, sleeveless satin dress that Jazz had worn to Homecoming a couple of years ago. It was nice enough to look good, but practical enough to be Jazz. Still, Dora definitely pulled it off and made it look sophisticated.

Apparently, his mom thought so too. "Well, that was kind of her. And it does look nice on you. It brings out your eyes."

"Thank you, Lady Fenton," she said with an elegant bow that made Danny feel clumsy.

"Oh, and so polite!" She turned to Danny. "Make sure you're polite tonight, young man."

Danny sighed. "Yes, Mom."

Then she grinned. "You both look amazing! I need pictures! Scoot in!" she said as she brought a camera out and began to snap. Danny was a little annoyed that they had a working camera after all, but then, he wouldn't let a teenager consistently use his stuff in the future either.

And really, that was the least of his worries. This dance and general evening hadn't really gone very well the first time around...

But events were already on a different track, so one could hope, right? He eyed the medallion around Dora's neck (she'd refused to be parted from it again) and really, _really_ hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to LittleSnowyRascal9842 for her help on the chapter! <3 
> 
> I didn't realize this episode would take three chapters to tell... especially when some of the next ones go by rather quick. *scratches head* That might tell you how much I think Dora was underrated in the show... ^^;


	8. The Dance

After declining his parents' offer to drive him to the dance (just NO), he and Dora set off for the school. When they were a couple of blocks away from his house he grinned at her, turned ghost and jumped in the air.

"We're going to be late if we have to pick up Tucker and Sam."

"We are meeting your friends?" she asked, a little excited. After all, she hadn't met them before.

Danny grinned. "Yup. Double date. Besides, they wanted to meet you."

She thought about that for a moment before smiling and jumping into the air after him. They set down in front of Sam's house and waited for Tucker to get there. Danny figured Tucker should be the one to knock on the door, in case Sam's parents wanted pictures like his had. So he and his date sat on the front porch, mainly talking about how different life today was as compared to the middle ages.

Dora found the electronics they used to be fascinating and incredible, while Danny still thought that the idea of knights and chivalry was cool. He understood why they were considered outdated, but he figured that people could benefit from treating other people with respect. Didn't mean it shouldn't be tweaked, but he still liked the general idea behind it.

They weren't there for too long when Tucker came walking up the sidewalk. He saw Danny and Dora and stopped. Then he moved forward a little more cautiously.

"Hi, Danny." He looked over at Dora a little warily.

Danny ignored his tone and grinned widely. "Hey, Tuck! This is my date, Princess Dorathea."

"A pleasure to meet you, Sir Tucker," she said with that graceful curtsy of hers. "I have heard many things about you."

"All good, I hope," the techno-geek commented, relaxing a little.

"Of course," she replied. "You may call me Dora if you wish."

Tucker glanced at Danny once before taking Dora's outstretched hand and bowing himself. "You can call me Tucker, My Lady."

Danny rolled his eyes at Tucker's habit of turning on the charm while Dora giggled. "Your friend has lovely manners, Danny."

Tucker turned a smug grin on his friend, and Danny just pointed over his shoulder. "Aren't you going to be getting your date?"

"Oh, right!" the techno-geek said hurriedly. He walked past the other two and knocked on the door. Last time, Sam had answered the door. Danny specifically remembered. This time, her parents did. They loomed over Tucker.

"So, you asked our daughter to the dance," Sam's father said with a smile that would make most ghosts shudder.

"We expect you will treat her like the lady she is," Sam's mother looked somehow even more menacing.

"If we hear anything untoward happening, your family will be _ruined_. Understand?" her dad said, his smile widening.

Tucker looked like he just wanted to run away. Danny couldn't blame him.

"And I thought ghosts could be possessive," Dora muttered beside him.

"I don't know whether to be terrified or impressed," her date whispered back.

"I sincerely hope they live long, fruitful lives," the princess said. "I don't think the Ghost Zone is ready for them."

"Right?" Danny agreed. He'd long-since gotten used to Mrs. and Mr. Manson, and it seemed that they'd gotten used to him – no matter how disapproving they'd been, because he didn't remember them being this menacing.

"MOM! DAD! It's _Tucker!_" Sam said, pushing her way through them to get to her friend.

Immediately they backed off, turning to their daughter.

"We just want to make sure you're safe, sweetums," Sam's mother said with a smile.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Thanks, but I can handle myself. We'll be fine."

"Well, alright. Let us get a few pictures!" her father said, holding up a camera.

Sam groaned but didn't otherwise complain as they took way too many pictures, and even dragged Danny and Dora into them.

When they finally made their escape, Dora whispered to Danny, "The fact that they were able to turn that menace off like that makes them scarier."

"You're not wrong," he said with a forced smile as they all set off down the road.

"Ugh, sorry about that," Sam said, once they'd gone a couple of streets down. Then she stopped and turned to Danny and Dora.

"Hi, I'm Sam Manson," she said, holding out her hand.

Dora curtsied again. "Princess Dorathea. You may call me Dora if you wish, Lady Sam." Then she looked down at the hand Sam had offered and, cautiously (almost as if she expected said hand to bite her or something), took it daintily.

"Just Sam, please," Sam replied, shaking Dora's hand firmly. "Now, tell me all about the Ghost Zone."

Tucker fell into step beside Danny as they walked behind the girls.

"I should have expected this, shouldn't I," he said a little flatly, but with no small amount of amusement.

"Yup," Danny replied. "So, they actually have a release date for the online Doomed game." He may have already known about it – already played it to death – but that didn't mean he couldn't go on about it. It was still one of the best game series, even in the future.

Tucker grinned and they fell into their own geek-out session.

xXx

The dance was a little empty when they got there, but none of them minded that. They quickly situated themselves in one of the corners and tried to follow as Dora taught them some medieval dances. Attempting to put those to the music of the early 2000's was supremely hilarious to Danny, and he constantly found himself suppressing snickers.

He glanced at the door as other dance-goers came in. He saw Dash and Paulina (he wasn't surprised that those two went together this time), Valerie and Kwan (he frowned at them but couldn't figure out why those two together seemed to bother him... or why they'd gone together, they hadn't last time, right? Had Paulina going with him to the dance shaken the social standing that badly last time? Interesting...), Star and a football player whose name he couldn't remember. Even Mikey came with a date.

Thankfully, Danny knew how to waltz – albeit basically – due to the fact that he'd had to attend functions in the future. So he and Dora were able to dance decently while everyone else just swayed. If things had continued to go on like that, Danny would have to call this dance an unmitigated success.

So, naturally, it didn't. He was having fun and relaxing and didn't realize he'd let his guard down.

"There you are, Fenturd!" Dash said. Danny froze and searched for an escape. He'd been ducking and dodging Dash, rather successfully, every day for the last couple of weeks, and he knew Dash would be on the war path. He'd thought he wouldn't start anything at the dance... but apparently he'd been wrong. Now the taller boy spun Danny around and got into his face before he could even take a step, a menacing smile showing the taller boy's teeth.

"Danny?" Dora asked, a little worriedly.

Dash looked up at her and did a double take. So did the guys he was with. All from the football or wrestling teams, of course.

"Whoa! Fenturd, how did a loser like you land a hot date like her?"

She shrank away, looking rather like she'd smelled something foul.

Danny shrugged. "I was nice. It's actually not that difficult, you know."

"Ha!" Dash said, shoving him aside. Then he leaned into Dora as the other football players crowded around her, blocking her from Danny's view. The time-traveler cursed under his breath. "So, do you like football players?" Dash asked as suavely as he could. "We're way better company than that loser you were hanging out with."

Before Dora could answer, another voice cut in. _"The Twelve Dancing Princesses_, people! What is going on here?" Everyone turned and, much to Danny's relief, Mr. Lancer came up to them, hands on his hips and a disapproving frown on his face.

"Nothing, Mr. Lancer," Dash said innocently. He grabbed Dora's arm. "I was just asking her to dance."

"Well," Mr. Lancer said, a little unsurely, "if that's all."

"No," Danny started, but one of the team managed to trip him before he could say anything.

"Thanks for chaperoning this, Mr. Lancer!" Dash said as he swept past the group and onto the dance floor."

"Mr. Lancer, she's my date!" Danny said, getting up while managing to avoid some grasping hands of Dash's posse, all still standing over him.

"That doesn't mean she can't dance with someone else," Mr. Lancer pointed out.

"She doesn't _want_ to dance with him! Look at her body language! She couldn't be stiffer if she was made of stone!"

"Afraid Dash'll steal your date?" one of the football players asked slyly.

Danny snorted. "Hardly. But no one should force themselves on anyone else!"

"I doubt we can call a dance 'forcing himself'," Mr. Lancer replied. At least he didn't _look_ like he approved, but he also didn't look like he'd really do anything.

"Yeah, Fenton."

Danny grit his teeth but took a calming breath. "It's still a control tactic, Mr. Lancer. He's forcing her to dance with him to get to me."

"It doesn't look like they're dancing anymore," Mr. Lancer commented. The song had only been going for a couple of seconds.

The boys in the group turned around and saw that Dash and Dora had stopped dancing as Paulina came up to them.

"Oh, man," Danny said, giving up on trying to talk sense into Mr. Lancer and practically diving through the dancers.

He got to them just in time to hear Paulina say, "— in an out of date dress and this gaudy costume jewelry." With one long, pink-clad arm, she reached over and grabbed the pendant around Dora's neck.

"NO!" Dora yelped, diving forward after it.

"It's just one dance," Dash said, not letting go of Dora's arm, the jerk. "Get over it. I'll be back to dance with you after this is done."

Completely ignoring Dora's distress, Dash swirled off into the crowd. Danny glanced between her and Paulina, still holding the very dangerous pendant, helplessly. Gritting his teeth, he decided to go after the pendant first. It would let him have more time to give Dash a piece of his mind.

"Just so you'll know," Danny said as he walked up and swiped the pendant out of Paulina's hand, "This is real. And you have _no_ right to touch it. Under U.S. laws, that's assault."

Paulina looked stunned for a moment, and before she could formulate a reply, Danny turned and ducked into the dancing crowd again, going after Dash.

He found him pushing Dora up against a wall and leaning in to kiss her. She'd promised that she wouldn't use ghost powers unless she had to, and Danny definitely classified this as 'had to'... but apparently she didn't, because she just winced and braced herself.

Danny saw red.

"Get away from her!" he bellowed. The medallion in his hand heated up... and then he remembered nothing but the red haze.

xXx

Sam knew things would head south eventually. She'd just hoped that 'eventually' would be much later in the evening. Maybe after the dance? But no, she and Tucker had to go for snacks, leaving Danny and Dora alone. She'd been a little reluctant to do so, but knew she couldn't hover all night, and so she'd ignored her instincts and headed off.

When she got back, she saw Mr. Lancer chasing Danny into the crowd of dancing kids and followed their general direction just in time to see Paulina swipe Dora's necklace. Then Dash had swept her off again, completely ignoring Dora's cry, loud enough for Sam to hear it over the music. Danny looked a little lost for a moment, before he turned after Paulina.

Cursing under her breath, she pulled Tucker with her onto the dance floor. She managed to get to Danny before Lancer did, just in time to see him run away from a shocked Paulina, Dora's pendant in hand.

"Wait, did Danny just tell Paulina off?" she asked Tucker.

He didn't seem to be listening, focused on Danny and looking worried. "Isn't that the amulet Danny said would turn angry people into dragons?"

"Come on," Sam said, managing to slip behind Lancer, who was searching the crowd with a scowl on his face.

They hadn't had much luck in finding Danny, though, and when the words, "Get _away FROM __**HER**_!" drowned out the music, Sam knew that the situation had hit the fan.

A huge, white dragon with jet-black ridges, matching wings on his back and glowing green eyes grew in the middle of the gymnasium. The music stopped and for several moments, nothing happened. Utter silence fell, deafening as the music had been. On the dance floor as those kids not knocked over by Danny suddenly growing to several times his normal height stared up at the mythical creature in shock. The rest soon joined them.

Then, said dragon roared and the gymnasium turned into a mad-house dash for the hallways outside.

"Is that Danny?" Tucker asked weakly.

"I think so," Sam replied.

Tucker looked over at her, ignoring the people rushing around them. "What do we do?"

Sam gave him a helpless look. "I don't know! We don't have the powers to fight him!"

"Wait," the techno-geek said, pointing to where Danny-the-dragon had just picked up a squirming Dash Baxter. "Well, we are his support, right?! WOO! GO DANNY! EAT THAT JOCK!"

"Tucker!" Sam growled.

"What? It's not like he doesn't deserve it."

"And how do you think Danny would feel about it afterwards?"

That made him frown at least. Sam would take it. "Come on, we have to stop him!"

"Danny!" she yelled up at him.

The dragon paused and looked down at them. They both stopped under that glare. Coming from a dragon, it was more than a little intimidating.

"MUST PROTECT!" he practically screamed at them.

Sam gulped. "M-maybe," she managed to get out, then made sure she looked and acted more demanding than she felt. "But this isn't the right way to go about it!"

Danny just roared and Sam backed into Tucker, nearly sending them both to the ground. They would have fallen if Dora hadn't been there to catch them.

"Look, in his hand," Dora said, pointing to the one closed hand that wasn't holding Dash. "That has to be where my amulet is. We just have to get him to drop it."

"How?" Sam asked.

Dora looked a little lost. "I... don't know."

"Well, you're the one with powers," Tucker said.

"Tucker's right," Sam said, "you're the only one who has the power to beat him."

"But... I'm just a princess? What can I do?"

"Are you a ghost or not?" Sam hissed. "You can fly, you can go intangible and you can go invisible! You said it yourself, all we need to do is get Danny to open his hand!"

Dora glanced between the two of them several times before another roar from Danny and another scream from Dash had them looking up.

"It's now or never, Dora!"

"V-very well!" Dora said, gulping as she jumped into the air.

"Woo! You go, Princess!" Tucker yelled after her, obviously very happy that he wasn't going to have to fight the giant dragon (and still taking his role of 'support' rather too seriously). Sam dragged him to hide behind the nearby food table in case they could see a chance to do something themselves.

xXx

Dorathea didn't know what she would do. She wasn't cut out for fighting! But Danny's friends were right, she had to do _something_. If she didn't, that would be a rather rude pay-back for everything he'd done for her.

"Sir Phantom... No, Danny!" she called out to him over the rude boy's screaming. The dragon turned his attention from said boy to her. She swallowed. Was this how it felt to stare herself or her brother down when they changed into dragon form?

She took a breath, despite not having to. It helped her calm down. "Danny, thank you... for wanting to protect me. But this isn't the right way. I... need my medallion back. Please."

"MUST PUNISH!" Danny yelled at her, going to swipe at her.

"No! Danny! You can't! That... that isn't your way," she said, then yelped as the giant hand almost got a hold of her. She dodged another swipe, and then another, each easier to dodge than the last one because the swipes were made with fists. He had the rude boy in one hand and the medallion in the other. She just had... to... keep... _dodging_.

This was actually... kind of fun.

Finally, Danny roared in frustration and went to grab her, opening his palm. She went intangible and raced for her amulet as it fell. She caught it and clutched it to her chest. Then she turned to see him shrinking... into the air... and falling... why didn't he fly? Without thinking, she shoved the amulet into her dress and dove forward to catch both of the boys before they hit the ground, knowing it was what Danny would want, even if she was happy letting the rude boy fall.

They still landed hard on the floor, but both of them just groaned and they looked alright. She figured she'd count that as a win. And perhaps it hadn't been a very difficult fight, but... she'd won. She'd triumphed.

Maybe there was more to what Danny's friend, Lady Sam, said about how princesses _can_ fight.

"Danny," she said, kneeling by him.

He put a hand on his head. "Huh?" he asked. "What happened?"

Dora pulled out her pendant and fixed it back around her neck. "You seem to have a few obsession issues yourself."

He sent her a weak smile as realization came to his eyes. "I'm not used to repressing my emotions."

"How do you usually release them?" she asked.

"I spar or train. It helps." Hmm, she'd have to consider that.

"W-what are you?" Both of them looked over to the rude boy, who was backing away from them, a look of terror on his face.

"Oh... um, I..." she started, looking for an excuse. Then she felt a warm hand on her arm.

"It's fine."

She shot Danny a grateful look before letting her eyes go slitted and her dragon tongue snaked out of her mouth. "I am a ghost. I had sworn I wouldn't use my abilities unless necessary. You made them necessary and I turned this perfectly normal human into a dragon," she pointed to Danny as she stalked forward and stood over him, trying to channel Lady Sam's mother. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Dash just yelped, turned and ran, shouting and screaming the whole way.

Sam and Tucker joined them as Dora and Danny burst into laughter.

"Maybe that'll scare him off," Tucker said hopefully.

"Probably not for long," Danny said with a sigh. "But I hope he's learned his lesson."

They all looked around the empty gymnasium.

"Well, at least there isn't a whole lot of damage," Danny said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"The DJ left his stuff here!" Tucker said, rushing over to the sound system.

"Tucker, no," Sam admonished as she went after him.

"Tucker, yes!" the African-American responded, grin wide.

"Well," Danny said to Dora, "despite all that happened at the end, did you still have fun?"

She paused and thought about it, then nodded. "Yes, I believe I did. Although some of the boys you school with are beyond rude."

"You're telling me."

She shifted uncomfortably for a second before opening her mouth. "I'm sorry I ruined your dance."

Danny shook his head. "Nah. I don't think you did. Dash did. It isn't your fault at all."

She sent him a small but real smile.

"Well, there you go," he went on, watching in amusement as his friends argued over the DJ equipment. "Your first ball, and we're counting it as a success."

Oh, right! It was supposed to be a ball... Dora braced herself for the anger that came whenever she thought about those, but felt only a dull throb. She blinked and thought about it again.

"You're right... I... I went to a ball. I..." she grinned openly at him. "I went to a ball!"

"Do you feel better?"

Dora looked around the empty room and then back at him. "Yes. I do."

"Not fading away?"

She shook her head. "It would seem not. And... I think that I would like to experience this world some more."

"Well, as long as you're not trying to hurt anyone, you're welcome to come here at any time."

Dora nodded. "I may take you up on that offer."

Before Danny could say anything else, a buzzing in his pocket sounded, and he grabbed his phone, flipping it open after seeing Jazz's number pop up.

"Hey, Jazz, what's up?"

"Danny? Is there a Ghost Dragon at the school?"

Danny glanced over at Dora. "There was, but we took care of it."

"Was it Dora?"

"No, not exactly. We'll explain when we get home."

"You'd better hurry," she said, sounding a little worried still. "Mom and Dad are on their way."

Danny's smile disappeared. They probably had a couple of seconds, tops, with the way his dad drove.

"Thanks, Jazz! See you in a few!"

With that, he hung up and looked over at his friends. "Sam, Tucker! We gotta go! Mom and Dad are on their way!"

The two friends stopped arguing, looked over at Danny then back at each other before they practically dove for one of the outside doors, with Danny and Dora hot on their heels.

xXx

All four of them managed to make it to Danny's home without tangling with the Fenton adults. Actually, now that he thought about it, his parents' reaction time was a little slow. It was a good thing, seeing as he wasn't used to dodging them anymore, but while he was grateful for that at the moment, it worried him. At least, it did before he realized that the school didn't _know_ to call them yet. It had probably taken them a little while to hear about the incident.

He gave it a month before the school figured it out. Two, tops.

Once they got there, Jazz confronted them and demanded an explanation, then proceeded to listen mainly to Sam. Danny wondered what that said about him that his sister would listen to his best friend over him, even knowing of his time-travel.

"Wait, you told Dash Baxter you're a ghost?" Jazz asked Dora.

"Sir Phantom said I could."

"I told you, it's Danny," he said patiently (hey, old habits are hard to break). Of course, when she heard his voice, his sister turned to him, raised an eyebrow and folded her arms, looking exceedingly unimpressed.

"It was the only way to explain everything ," he defended. "Now he knows I may have been turned into a dragon, but it wasn't by choice." He turned to his date and smiled gratefully. "Thanks for that, by the way."

"I know you wished to keep your secret," Dora replied.

"Yeah, I'm still worried Mom and Dad will want to run tests on me to make sure I'm not contaminated or something, and will find out I'm half ghost before they're ready."

"I'll say I checked you out," Jazz said. "You came home freaked out because your date was a ghost and she turned you into a dragon."

"On accident. We want to make sure we stress that," Danny said. "Mom and Dad won't believe us, but it will give us a stronger base to work from later."

"Right," Jazz nodded. "In any case, I decided to use one of their crazy machines to check you out for ghost contamination and found nothing."

About then, Tucker cut in. "Maybe they should catch us 'in the act' of making sure Danny's okay. It'll make it more believable."

The red-head hummed, nodding thoughtfully. "Good idea, Tucker. We'll have to call Mom and Dad home, or they could be out all night, but I'm pretty sure they'll come if we tell them we're testing to make sure Danny isn't contaminated... well, more so than normal."

Sam and Tucker blinked at them. "How is it that you can be contaminated 'normally' and no one cares?"

Jazz shrugged. "Ectoplasm is found in human bodies. Even in large amounts it doesn't hurt humans unless there are strange charges to it."

If anything, Sam and Tucker's expressions became more incredulous.

"You actually _listened_ to their explanations?"

Jazz rolled her eyes. "Please. In this household, you can't get away with knowing _nothing_ about ghosts."

The two friends exchanged glances. "She has a point," Tucker said. Sam sent her and Danny pitying looks.

"I'll call Mom and Dad," Jazz said, getting out her phone. "You guys go down and find something that will convince them that Danny's fine." Then she turned to Dora. "I'm sorry, but that means you'll probably have to go home. Even your human form is known around here now."

Dora shook her head. "I don't mind. Tonight was probably the most fun I've had in centuries, downsides and all."

"And it means you'll have to be careful when you come back to talk to us." Dora just stared at her. "If you want to come back," Jazz put in hurriedly.

"You... still want me to come?"

"Well, don't you still need someone to talk to? And besides, you have homework that I'll be very disappointed about if you don't at least start on it."

The ghost just looked around at the for humans smiling at her. "You... are all truly amazing people. If the modern world has produced humans such as yourselves, perhaps it is much better than even I thought."

"Thank you," Jazz said. "But don't rush into change. Our world is far from perfect." Danny couldn't agree more. As much as he wanted Dora to change and be happier again, she needed to come to the conclusion of that change herself. Rushing into things would only make her second guess herself.

Dora nodded. "I will... give the idea of trying to move my kingdom into time again some thought."

"I have a question about that," Tucker spoke up with a frown. "If your kingdom is frozen in time, then how can you interact with the rest of the world? Shouldn't you be cut off or something?"

The princess contemplated that for a moment. Then she shrugged. "I do not know. All I know is technology does not work in my realm and changes are very much discouraged."

"So less cut-off-from-time, and more of a suppression field of some kind?" Danny asked.

"I suppose," Dora said, although she obviously had no clue what he'd just said.

"Why don't we discuss this later," Jazz cut in before they could say anything. "Hurry down to the lab. I'll be right behind you." She took out her phone and looked at them pointedly. Right, so she'd call their parents, and that would give them about twenty minutes, max. Actually, probably closer to ten with how over-protective their parents could be.

A couple of minutes later, Danny opened the ghost portal and smiled at Dora. "Thanks for coming tonight," he said, bowing because he knew she'd appreciate it.

"I should be thanking you," she said softly. Then she walked over to him and, much to his surprise, kissed his cheek. "So thank you, Danny Fenton."

With one final smile and wave at the other two, she turned and disappeared into the Ghost Zone. Danny just stood there for several seconds, eyes wide and a little glazed.

"Did... that just happen?" he asked.

Tucker snorted. Sam just rolled her eyes.

"C'mon, ghost boy," she said. "Let's set this up. What should we used to prove to your parents that we got all of the 'ghost' out of you?"

Danny could think of a dozen inventions off the top of his head, but he was pretty sure very few – if any – of them existed at this point. It took Jazz coming downstairs to actually find something Danny only vaguely remembered.

"The Fenton Extractor?" Danny asked, eyeing what looked like an old-fashioned vacuum cleaner.

Jazz sighed. "Don't ask."

"Okay... but does it record what it scans?"

Jazz shrugged.

"Let's use it on Tuck then."

"What?" Tucker asked.

"Well, if it does record what it scans, we need it to have scanned a non-contaminated, 14-year-old boy. You've been exposed to enough ectoplasm that it should pass for Danny."

The African-American shook his head and backed up, waving his hands in front of him. "No way."

"Come on," Danny said with a sigh. "Just turn around, we run this over the back of you and we're done. Then we just turn it on when Mom and Dad get home."

"What if it hurts?" Tucker asked.

Danny sighed. "It won't. And if it does, I owe you a Nasty Burger."

That made Tucker freeze. He eyed the contraption in Jazz's hands, then looked back at Danny, then at the contraption again.

"Fine," he said as he went to turn around. "Just hurry."

"You got it!" Jazz said happily as she turned the machine on and ran it over his body. To no one's surprise, nothing happened.

"Alright," she said as she put the device down and turned it off. "Now we just need to wait until Mom and Dad –"

Everyone flinched as a crash sounded from upstairs.

"KIDS!"

They all looked at each other, then checked their watches (or in Tucker's case, his PDA).

"Five minutes..."

"Almost six..." Jazz said weakly.

"How many homes do you think they ruined on their way here?" Sam asked, a little sardonically.

Danny sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to LittleSnowyRascal9842 for beta reading this! :D
> 
> And thank you to everyone for reading this! I didn't expect the people who read this to love it this much. I mean, Danny Phantom is 15 years old (the show, not the kid... lol) and while it has a VERY dedicated fanbase, I've already gotten more readers than I thought I would. And this was just a 'what if' kind of story with me more or less slogging along at my own pace. I mean, there are chapters later that go into political stuff and how it affects Danny and with all the psychological and world-building stuff... I didn't think this would be as well-liked as it is. So, just, thank you. For clicking on it, for reading it, and if you like it, for liking it. :)


	9. The Box Ghost

When Jack and Maddie came rushing downstairs to see that Jazz had just 'finished' running the scanner over Danny's body and nothing showed up, they couldn't be more relieved.

"Did she hurt you?" his mother asked, looking over him.

"Of course she did! She turned him into a dragon!" Jack said angrily, rummaging around for something on one of the work tables.

"Actually, that was an accident," Danny said. "She apologized and everything. Paulina stole her medallion and I got it back. That's what turned Dora into a dragon... and me, apparently."

"Oh, Danny," his mother said sadly, "you're so trusting. But this is a ghost. She obviously _meant _for it to happen."

It hurt to hear her voice her bias like that... more than he thought it would. But he didn't say anything.

Maddie must have seen his expression though, because she frowned. "Maybe I should scan you again," she said worriedly.

Danny groaned to try and cover his worry. "Mom, I'm _fine_."

"But we've told you how dangerous ghosts can be," she insisted, "what if she used that dragon form to influence you or—"

"She didn't."

"An evil ghost could have—" Jack started.

Danny cut him off. "She's not evil!"

"Danny, honey," his mother said soothingly, "all ghosts are evil. We've told you that—"

"And I've _never_ agreed with it!" Danny found himself just this side of shouting, and that was a near thing indeed. "This isn't some new thing. Just because she's a ghost doesn't make her evil!"

"But it does, Danny-boy," his father said, still looking angry. "And if she ever shows her face again, I'll—"

"No!" Danny said. "She apologized and went back into the ghost zone voluntarily. My opinion hasn't changed at all. I'm not contaminated. End of story. Goodnight."

With that, he turned and marched up the stairs, Sam and Tucker on his heels.

Maddie and Jack exchanged glances, and the red-head opened her mouth to speak before Jazz interrupted her. "He's right."

They both turned to stare at her in a sort of incredulous horror, so Jazz decided to clarify.

"He's never agreed with your obvious bias against ghosts. And for the record, neither have I."

"Since when do you believe in ghosts at all?" Jack asked suspiciously.

Jazz rolled her eyes. "Since my brother got turned into a ghost-dragon of some kind. There's actual footage of it online, you know." Tucker had shown them when they'd gotten back. Apparently, someone with a decent phone had been recording their friend dancing, and then the white-dragon grew in the background and off to the left. "But even when I didn't, part of the reason your obsession bothered me is because of your confirmation bias. Your methodology when it came to the personality of all ghosts was part of the reason I _couldn't_ believe you until tonight. If you couldn't be scientific and objective about that, then how could I believe you were remotely objective about _anything_ else you were studying?" She shrugged as she walked by.

"Oh," she paused on the stairs and looked back over her shoulder at them, "and Danny's right, the ghost did apologize and return to the Ghost Zone voluntarily. Now, you can hold to your beliefs that something _must_ have influenced all four of us, or you can question your own biases. If you come up with anything other than that Danny and I _should_ believe what you've shoved down our throats all our lives – with nothing but a few books and unsubstantiated theory behind it, I might add – to prove that we've been duped somehow, I'll happily listen."

"Jazz, there are documented cases of ghosts actively seeking to hurt people," Maddie argued.

The younger girl shrugged as she turned to face them again and folded her arms. "There are also cases of ghosts or angels helping people. There are also documented cases of humans hurting and killing other humans. Does that mean we should judge the entire human race off of them?"

"There's no possible way for ghosts to have intelligent thought," Jack cut in. "They're made entirely of ectoplasm. It's not complex enough to transfer the electrical signals that make up thought. It's also why so many of our weapons work on ghosts, but not humans. Simple disruptions are all it takes for a lot of ghosts."

"In theory," Jazz said. "Because, as I recall, you've never actually _seen_ a ghost, let alone actually _studied_ it."

"I have," Maddie said quietly. "My family was haunted by a poltergeist. It was nothing short of pure evil, Jazz."

"That's _one ghost,_ Mom. I'm not saying your experience has no merit, I am saying you've let it cloud your judgment. And even then, you still haven't been able to study it! Thank goodness, because if you cut open anything sentient..." She shook her head in disgust.

"They aren't sentient!" Jack argued.

"Right. Because they aren't made of what we're made up of, they must be inferior. There can't possibly be any other way for an entity to have intelligent thought than through a human nervous system."

"We've never seen any sort of animal documented that doesn't have some sort of nervous system," Maddie pointed out, perhaps a little heatedly.

"And that's why it doesn't exist. Because we've never seen it and therefore it couldn't possibly exist." Jazz shook her head. "I'm done. Goodnight."

And with that, she turned and tromped upstairs.

Maddie turned sadly to her husband. "Oh, Jack... where did we go wrong with them?"

Jack, for once, looked very grim. "I... don't know, Maddie. I really don't know." Then his face firmed up. "We'll just have to prove it to them! We'll redouble our efforts to catch a ghost and then we'll have the proof she wants!"

Maddie smiled, grateful for her husband's enthusiasm and positive outlook. It was just one of the many reasons why she loved him so much.

xXx

Danny and Jazz spent the rest of the weekend avoiding their parents as best they could. They mostly just killed time holed up in Jazz's room making plans for when Dora would come back. Thankfully, Jack and Maddie realized that their kids needed some space and gave it to them (if worriedly, judging from the glances they would shoot the teens whenever they happened to be in the same room).

Monday at school was... strange, to say the least. Everyone stared quietly at Danny as he, Sam and Tucker walked down the hall. If he wasn't almost completely sure that no one had figured out his secret (how could they? He wasn't even a public figure at this point), he might be a little worried. As it was, he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.

He'd just gotten to his locker when someone finally had the guts to call out to him.

"Yo, Fenton!"

Danny turned around to see a couple of jocks (minus Dash, funnily enough) come walking up to him. The dark-skinned boy heading the group was someone Danny vaguely remembered and it took him a minute to come up with the guy's name. Dale, he thought. The guy was a tight end on the football team and a pretty good player from what he remembered. He also had a similar attitude problem to the quarterback.

"Was that really you at the dance?"

"Was what really me?" Danny asked, raising an eyebrow in dry question.

"That dragon."

The half-ghost grinned. "Oh, yeah. That was me."

"You got turned into that by your ghost date?" Another guy with red-brown hair and braces asked.

"Basically," Danny shrugged. "She apologized. Don't worry, I got scanned for ecto-contamination. I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me turning into a dragon again any time soon."

"Just when I thought you were enough of a freak," Dale scoffed.

"C'mon, guys," the tight end muttered.

For several moments, the trio could only stare after the jocks as they walked away without trying to stuff him into a locker or give him a swirly... After they'd disappeared and nothing else had happened, Danny grinned to himself. Well, this was a pleasant side effect he could live with.

xXx

Unsurprisingly, the Box Ghost showed up next. Actually, Danny was a little surprised it had taken him this long.

He came across the specter as he was rooting happily through a warehouse full of boxes of all sizes. Actually, Danny had checked this particular warehouse specifically for that reason.

"Hey," he said, making sure he was wearing a grin.

The Box Ghost jumped and spun around.

"You _dare_ sneak up on me like that! You will face my wrath, for I am the Box Ghost!"

Danny just held up his hands. "My bad, my bad. I wasn't trying to sneak up on you."

The ghost paused and looked at Danny in confusion. "You weren't?"

The half-ghost just shook his head and extended his hand in greeting. "Nope. The name's Danny Phantom. I've claimed this place as my haunt." He decided to drop the 'lair' thing out of his introductions, as it was just a pain to explain.

Hesitantly, the Box Ghost reached his hand forward and shook Danny's quickly before retreating hurriedly. Danny didn't take offense. He was actually kind of glad the Box Ghost had tolerated the half ghost approaching him at this point.

"So," Danny asked him as he floated across from the annoying specter, shifting so his feet were up and under him in a sitting position, "why do you like boxes?"

The Box Ghost blinked at him. "Why do you care?" he wailed.

The half-ghost shrugged. "Just curious. I mean, boxes aren't exactly uncommon. Squares are one of the easiest shapes to make after all, so I'm guessing you're looking for a _particular_ box. And then, whatever boxes that happen to be interesting that you find along the way is a bonus. Am I right?"

The blue-skinned ghost just stared at him, before saying (in a very normal voice), "Wow, you're good."

Danny grinned. "It's the discovery of what's _in_ the box that you like. And the fact that you know where to get what you need to get if you find anything else interesting that appeals after that, I'm guessing." Actually, he'd had this conversation a couple of times in the future with the Box Ghost, but honestly, it wasn't that difficult to figure out.

"You think so?"

If the normally annoying specter wasn't talking in his over-dramatized voice, it was a good sign. The fact that Danny had gotten him to say two things in a row in that normal tone was actually more than he thought he'd get on their first encounter.

He shrugged. "It's very likely. I mean, we can't know for sure unless you have memories of your life."

The Box Ghost actually sat in the air himself and thought about it. Danny thought that he looked rather at home surrounded by the old warehouse that had stood down by the docks for more than half a decade. Maybe that had something to do with the Box Ghost's obsession? They'd never really figured it out in the future, even if they'd been able to temper the ghost's need to find and hoard more boxes.

"I do not remember anything of my previous life!"

And they were back to the annoying voice. Danny took a small breath and reminded himself to be patient.

"Hmm," Danny replied, putting his chin in his hand and resting the other on his leg. "Well, you're here at the docks. How long have you haunted this place?"

"I have only recently come from the Zone of Ghosts!"

"Do you know how long you've been in the Ghost Zone then?"

"I do not!"

Danny tapped his chin with his finger. "Are you drawn to docks? Or is this a one-time thing?"

The box ghost blinked at him. "Now that you mention it..."

They were back to normal voice! Progress!

"How about this: I'll look through some records for the last couple of years and see if there are any accidents from guys who look like you..." he paused. "You are a guy, right?"

"Of course I am!" The ghost said, sounding offended.

"Okay, okay," Danny said, putting his hands up. "I just wanted to make sure. I'll look through the last century or so. No guarantees that I'll find anything, but we might get lucky."

The ghost just floated there, staring at Danny with his red eyes and a blank look. "You... would do that... for me? Why?"

Well, he'd started out normal that time, even if he'd ended up in dramatic mode by the end.

Danny shrugged. "Why not. Figuring out your obsession is either the key to you controlling your afterlife, or you moving on. Either way, it's good for you, it's good for me, it's good for the rest of the world and the Ghost Zone, so why shouldn't I?"

"Do you have any idea how long that will take?" The Box Ghost asked, genuinely surprised and a little skeptical.

"Yeah, I do. Now, about you being in the real world..."

The Box Ghost folded his arms in a pout. "I must remain here or I will not find what I need!"

"Ha!" Danny grinned. "So you _are_ looking for something... in a box."

The ghost just stared at him. "Beware!"

Before he could fly away, the half-ghost jumped forward and grabbed his arm. "Look, I know that you feel like you have to find whatever you're looking for, but you're scaring people, and generally making their lives difficult when you empty out random boxes. I will be looking into this for you, I promise, but I need you to look for more boxes _in_ the Ghost Zone. Not out here."

"I have already looked everywhere in the Zone of Ghosts!"

Danny raised an eyebrow skeptically.

The Box Ghost fidgeted. "Everywhere a weak ghost like me can."

Ah! "So that's why you want to be feared," he said.

"Of course! Power is all that is respected in the Zone of Ghosts!"

Danny sighed. "Power's overrated."

Silence met his words. The Box Ghost was staring at him again, somewhere between utter incomprehension and utter confusion. So he decided to explain.

"I'm half-ghost. Power comes with the territory. But there's a reason why they say that power corrupts. It's addicting and enticing and in the pursuit of it, I have seen ghosts and humans alike completely lose sight of their obsessions and goals." Including one version of himself and what he could be if he wasn't careful.

"Besides," he looked up and smiled brightly, "have you ever heard that you get more flies with honey than vinegar?"

The Box Ghost looked thoughtful, but skeptical. "Not in the Ghost Zone."

Well, he had a bit of a point there. "Depends on the ghost."

The blue-skinned ghost looked away from Danny, who sighed again. "Look, why don't you go and make a list of places you haven't searched, and we'll see if we can get there at some point in the future. I need to visit some ghosts there anyway."

An unreadable expression crossed the ghost's face. "You're really going to do this?"

Danny shrugged. "It'll probably take a while, but I don't see why not."

The Box Ghost still seemed skeptical, but he did answer, in his usual strange tones. "Very well! I shall return to the Zone of Ghosts! If you do not find me soon, I shall come back here and find you!"

"Fair enough," Danny said easily. "Just try to stay invisible and not scare anyone."

"I shall try, but boxes may become my undoing!"

Not that Danny hadn't expected something like that. "I only ask that you try your best."

Another long stare. "Very well. I shall return to the Zone of Ghosts now! BEWARE!"

The half-ghost watched him leave with an almost fond smile on his face. Then he took out his phone and began the arduous process of typing notes in his phone on a 9-key pad. No wonder Tucker went with PDAs right now.

xXx

Thankfully, both Sam and Tucker agreed to help him out with his research into accidents and/or deaths on or near the Amity docks. Unfortunately, Danny really hadn't realized just how much there would be to go through.

"There are literally _thousands_ of death certificates to go through," Sam said in exasperation, her face on the video call plainly communicating her annoyance.

"And hundreds of accidents that have happened on or by the docks," Tucker added, not looking too pleased himself.

Danny sighed. "Look, guys, I know. Finding out who the Box Ghost used to be is... likely going to take some time. We don't even know if he died in Amity Park or not, but right now, it's what we have to work with."

Sam frowned, then looked over at Danny in question. "Why are you so determined to help him, Danny?"

"Yeah," Tucker agreed, "I mean, he's a ghost."

"Eh, mainly because he'll likely listen to me more if I help him out. Well, that and, if I ever died, I'd like to know exactly what I was searching for too. I feel kinda bad for him, you know?"

"So," Tucker said slowly, "you want to protect the town from him, but you want to help him protect himself?"

Danny shrugged. "Something like that."

Sam had that small smile on her face that just warmed him from his toes to his head. "That's really sweet of you, Danny," she said softly.

Why did it have to hurt so much?

Yeah, he was done with this for now. His 14-year-old body and brain were not handling this well.

"Anyway, I thought we could look up a few a night, or spend a couple hours every weekend going through certifica—" he paused as he turned around. "Huh?" he said loudly. He hadn't really heard anything, but really wanted an excuse to get away from their chat right now.

"Oh, my parents are coming back," he said hurriedly. "Still grounded. Sorry, guys. See you later!"

With that, he switched the cameras off and then sat back on the chair massaging his forehead. They couldn't keep doing this. He had to tell them...

But the thought just made him so sick...

"I will tell them," he muttered to himself. "As soon as I'm ready, I'll tell them."

He decided to go through his own stack of dock accidents before his parents really got home and began the tedious task of looking through adults who worked or died on or near the docks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to LittleSnowyRascal9842! :)
> 
> So, I have several more chapters written, so this should be a weekly update until I catch up with what I have written. To be fair, I'm working on chapter 21 or so and have just gotten done with explaining what happened with Danny and Sam (one of my favorite parts). I'm only on about episode 7, though. HOWEVER, the Halloween Special, Fright Knight, will be sandwiched in there a little out of order, probably right after Bitter Reunions, or maybe Prisoners of Love. *rubs chin thoughtfully* I already have that one written out too. LOL
> 
> Someone commented that they think there needs to be more scenes from other people's points of view. Normally I'd be right behind you, 100%, but I made this to be as much from Danny's POV as possible... However, I can probably add in a couple of scenes here and there. What do you guys think? Would you like to see more from the other Ghost's povs? From Jazz's pov? From their parent's pov? I mean, I'll consider it if enough people think it could enhance the story. Let me know! :)
> 
> Also, there seems to have been issues with people not getting notifications here on AO3, so you may want to make sure you're subscribed to the story if you'd like to read more. Dunno why it's being weird... 
> 
> Well, thank you for reading, everyone! :D


	10. Skulker and the GEV Scale

9th grade English was nowhere near the pain Danny had thought it would be. Next to P.E. and Home Ec., it was still his worst subject, but it was surprising what future knowledge and having to read multiple textbooks and scientific papers could do for language comprehension. Too bad such texts tended to stay away from archaic forms of literature and expression.

He'd actually managed to maintain some good grades, though. Even in his worst classes, which was why Sam never said anything about the purple-back gorilla display. And while Jazz mentioned something about a magazine interview to their parents, she didn't make nearly as much of a big deal about it as she had previously (probably due to the knowledge that her parents were, in fact, _right_), so Danny didn't really see Skulker coming.

Not that it was much of an issue. He was far too used to Skulker showing up randomly throughout a good deal of his life to really be surprised. Honestly, the fact that he hadn't seen it coming shocked him more than the hulking form standing in the hall when he opened his bedroom door one evening to grab an after-dinner snack.

"Hello, Ghost Child."

Danny stepped back out of sheer surprise. "Skulker!"

The robot ghost practically lit up. "You've heard of me! Me! The Ghost Zone's greatest hunter!"

The half-ghost blinked, then decided to roll with it. "Yes. Yes I have. You hunt things that are kind of rare or unique, right?"

He literally preened. "Yes, that is me!" Then his smile took on the familiar sharp edge. "And you, Ghost Child, are definitely unique. So, knowing that, will you give up so I can put you on display?"

Danny repressed the urge to roll his eyes. "Let's be real, Skulker," he said with a smirk as he folded his arms smugly. "You wouldn't be the Ghost Zone's greatest _hunter_ if your obsession didn't have to do with, you know, hunting."

The robot grinned. Danny always did wonder exactly how Skulker pulled that off. Really, his mechanical feats were impressive, even if his technological feats tended to be lacking. "Well said, Ghost Child." He held up his arm and pointed it at Danny's face. "Any last words?"

"Yeah," the black-haired boy said as he turned back to his bed. Skulker wouldn't shoot him until he actually _spoke_ his last words, so he wasn't worried. He reached the thermos and picked it up. "I'll leave Tuesday afternoons, Thursday afternoons and every other Saturday afternoon open. If you come at any other time, you'll deal with the rules of my lair/haunt."

Skulker blinked, his grin falling from his face and confusion replacing it.

"I don't– I mean, um... What rules would that be?"

Danny nonchalantly strode up to and then past him, clearly broadcasting the entire time that he wasn't on the offensive. In his surprise, Skulker just watched it happen. It wouldn't take him long to recover though.

"One accumulative hour of imprisonment for every breach. So the first time, it'll only be one hour. The second time, it'll be two hours, the third time three hours, etc. The amount of time added on doubles after 9 at night and before 6 in the morning, and for every two hours you earn, it's one hour of psychotherapy time with my sister. Also, if you ever purposefully hurt or set out intending to hurt anyone in my haunt, it moves up to accumulative _days_ locked in solitary confinement. If you ever intend to kill anyone other than myself while in the human realm – human or ghost – it's grounds to use lethal force." He made sure to get the fact that he was serious about that last one. He'd learned a long time ago that he could not tolerate that kind of ghost in Amity Park. Too many people had died because of it, and he would not make that mistake again.

Again, Skulker looked shocked, as if he didn't know quite what to think of that. Then he shook it off. "Oh, and how do you plan on imprisoning one of the Ghost Zone's greatest – Aargh!"

Danny had turned on the thermos when Skulker hadn't seen. Slamming it against the suit – infused with ghost energy and made of ghostly metal – the hunter was almost immediately sucked into the thermos.

Just as he stuck the cap on, Jazz came rushing out of her room. "Danny? What happened? I heard someone yell! I..."

He held up the thermos. "A ghost."

She just stared at him for several seconds. Then, ever so calmly, she stood straight and put her hands behind her back, now looking every inch a professional.

"The fact that you said that as if it were common place – expected even – does not strike me as the healthiest of states to be in."

Danny just shrugged. "It is normal for me, Jazz. I got it under control."

His older sister just sighed and rubbed her temple. "Which ghost was it this time?"

"Skulker. The Ghost Zone's self-proclaimed greatest hunter."

She blinked, then shook her head. "I'm guessing you want me to talk to him too."

Danny shrugged. "Probably wouldn't hurt, but while Skulker is brilliant and creative, he's also rather simple. He's about a level 65 - 70 on the GEV scale."

More silence. Then, "The GEV scale?"

"Oh, I didn't mention that to you before?" Danny asked, smacking his forehead with his free hand. Then he looked down at the thermos before looking back up at his sister. "Are Mom and Dad home?"

"Uh, yeah. I think so. I didn't hear them leave."

Danny sighed. "Sorry, Skulker," he said to the thermos, "I was going to let you go immediately, seeing as you didn't know the laws I will enforce, but we might have to wait until I can safely release you back into the Ghost Zone. I'm timing how long you'll be in there now and will take it off of future imprisonments, okay?" With that, he whipped out his phone from his back pocket and searched for a timer app. It took him a little bit to find one (seriously, the menus on this thing!), but find one he did. Jazz just stood in her doorway getting more and more impatient.

Then Danny flipped his phone closed and grinned at his sister. "Alright, mind if I come in and I'll explain everything?"

She just stood to the side, still looking a little annoyed.

Danny walked by her, set the thermos on the corner of her desk, then took his usual seat on her chair, smiling the whole while. "Are you sure you want to hear this? It's a pretty long explanation."

Jazz just shot him a dry look. "I'm sure."

"Okay," Danny said with a shrug. "It's your funeral. Just know, I'll probably sound a lot like Mom and Dad here..." That had taken him a while to admit – that he really _did _take after his parents. It had taken him even longer to realize that it was nothing to be ashamed of... well, for the most part. He'd gotten a lot happier when he'd embraced that fact and run with it.

"The first thing you need to know," he started, holding up a finger, "is that we came up with two different scales to measure a ghost's general capacity. The first one is simply a power level and it's pretty universal when it comes to ghost hunters. The GIW used it on a fairly regular basis before they were shut down."

Danny frowned. He'd have to do something about them. That branch of the government had been... problematic. If he could nip that in the bud...

"In any case, we measure it by assessing the ghost's power output – their aura – and then adjust the outcome by observing the strength, effects or devastation their powers can cause. The more high-level abilities a ghost has, the higher on the scale they tend to be as a general rule of thumb. But ghosts can have a high power output without being extremely complex. Conversely, they can have a high complexity without a whole lot of power.

"Like Skulker, here," Danny said, tapping the lid of the thermos lightly. No need to be cruel after all. "He doesn't have the highest natural power output, but makes up for it by using his brain. Or, well, the ghostly equivalent."

Jazz seemed to be following him so far as she nodded thoughtfully. "So the second scale has to do with complexity?"

Danny grinned and nodded. "The GEV scale. Short for 'Ghost Evolution', it's more or less a way to keep track of how complex a ghost's ecto-body is." He cut off there for a moment and then grabbed the thermos and tossed it to his sister. She caught it out of surprise but looked at it like it would explode at any minute. "May want to put that under a pillow so he can't hear everything we're saying. Just in case... you know?"

"Oh," Jazz said, then carefully stuffed it under the pillows at the head of her bed. "He can't get out, can he?"

"I've never seen a ghost be able to without external forces, and I've captured some pretty powerful ghosts." Danny shrugged. "In any case, the GEV scale is what Mom and Dad came up with a little after they realized how badly their confirmation bias had actually hindered them.

"So, ghosts form when the will of a person or an ideal from multiple people attaches itself to an ectoplasmic mass. That mass begins to take on shape, and eventually becomes the ghost's body, and the ghost evolves from there. Obviously the process is more complex than that, but we need to be on the same page." Jazz nodded, so he went on. "The GEV scale ranges from 0.1 to 99.9. Are you with me so far?"

Jazz nodded firmly, so Danny continued.

"Ecto-bodies often start out as the equivalent of a simple life form, with very little besides will or drive holding the ghost together at all. These ghosts, level 10 and below, are the simplest ghosts and are usually so weak that they rarely even register to other ghosts, if they aren't possessing an object. Tales of dolls coming to life, or a spirit haunting a watch or the like. We found that a large majority of those are caused by a GEV level 10 ghost or below. Mass and will is more or less everything that makes them up.

"Then you get 10.1 – 20. These ghosts have been around for a little longer, or they have stronger will. Either way, that time and/or will has shaped the ghost into an actual, visible (at least to other ghosts) form. Most of the ghosts in the Ghost Zone are in these first two categories. Sadly, it's more uncommon for a ghost to evolve past this stage as they are often either obliterated by other ghosts, or their will isn't strong enough and they fade back into ectoplasmic energy. These are still very simple ghosts that cannot feel pain. They don't have the capacity for it.

"Level 20.1 – 30 ghosts are those that are just beginning to show a personality. They tend to take specific shapes, like the ectopi, but are still simple creatures driven by their will and hunger to grow. They begin to develop organs in this stage and tend to possess more effective, but still simplistic digestion systems."

Danny took a deep breath and made sure Jazz was still listening. She was hanging off of his every word. Huh, maybe he wouldn't make too bad of a teacher? Well, it was an option in any case. Maybe?

"Level 30.1 – 40 ghosts are the ones that can begin to communicate. They either learn a way to communicate or remember a couple of words from their original language. This stage is when ghosts begin to develop the equivalent of a nervous system. At least, ghosts based on living creatures do. Their memories subconsciously shape their bodies, along with their will and their obsession."

"Wait," Jazz cut in, "how can they have a subconscious if they don't even have a brain – or an equivalent?"

Danny shook his head. "It's imprinted on the ectoplasm. Because ectoplasm isn't nearly as complex, ghost memories tend to be few and far between, highly corrupted and often not deemed important. Sometimes they will strengthen over time as a ghostly body becomes more complex again, but due to development rates and the importance of the memory, unless a ghost actively tries to recall something, it's pretty rare for ghosts to remember their previous lives. In all honesty, we never could quite figure out how it was even _possible_ to keep any memories at all... but I digress. Just know that most ghosts on this level and above _can_ and _do_ feel pain, or at least discomfort.

"Moving onto level 40.1 – 50. Here is where ghosts really start to develop. They can consciously begin to channel the energy shaping them, and can encourage one trait to grow over another. This is where you start to get the unique powers most ghosts have. This is also where the discomfort and simple signals of pain become more pronounced and intricate, helping the ghost continue to survive.

"From level 50.1 – 60 you start getting far more complex ecto-forms that can communicate and learn on a more advanced level than before, even if it is still very simplistic by human standards. We get real sentience – and sometimes even sapience – here. I had... have... will have? Um... a ghost-dog I nick-named Cujo who started out on the lower end of this level."

Jazz gave him a look somewhere between horrified and resigned. "Cujo? Really?"

"He was an undead dog that initially came back to make my life miserable and the name stuck. I got it from Sam, actually. She's the one who reads Stephen King."

His sister shook her head and rubbed the bridge of her nose (the gesture was undermined by a small, amused smile) before waving him on.

"Skulker is high in the level 60's because of his intelligence. Despite being a hunter, he cared more for cunning and the ability to think through problems than he did about his physical form. So he's actually a little blob about this big," Danny held his hands apart, about the width of a football, "maybe the equivalent of anywhere from 47.1 – 55.1, with the brain of a level 70 ghost. He has organs and an ectoplasmic nervous system, but they are severely underdeveloped when compared to his intellect. However, he doesn't quite have the complexities of a human brain, probably due to his lack of physical growth. Even in ghosts, intellect will only get you so far without proper physical strength to support it.

"So 60.1 – 70 are specialized ghosts similar to humans, but still more simplistic, at least In some aspects. I have a friend named Wulf – well, I hope he'll be my friend still – who fits in this category, too, except he's the opposite of Skulker. His body is very developed, but his intellect can be considered more simple. Not stupid, just not as developed as some other ghosts.

"Level 70.1 – 80 are where most humans fall on the scale, just to give a reference. So this level of ghsot tends to have similar complexities and diversities. By this time in a ghost's development, they tend to have a strong sense of self and a fully realized personality. I've given you a run-down of some of the different ghosts we'll run in to, Ember, Lunch Lady, even the Box Ghost fall into this category, with Ember being on the higher end and Box Ghost being on the lower end. Note that I find Skulker far more dangerous than Box Ghost, but Box Ghost happens to fall higher on the scale because he is more physically developed and while he may not be the brightest candle on the cake, he is more rounded developmentally.

"One thing you _have_ to know, though, is that just because they have a human level of complexity doesn't mean that they always have the exact human psychology anymore, although more often than not it's extremely similar. Ghosts are a different race altogether, with different cultures and subcultures, as well as different biology. I remember you talking about how it was almost _alien_ at times."

Jazz, who looked a little overwhelmed (although she still seemed to be able to follow along) smiled weakly. "I'll bet I saw it as a fun challenge."

Danny laughed. "Oh, boy, did you ever."

His sister snorted.

"In any case," the half-ghost went on, "Level 80.1 – 90 are your very long-lived ghosts who have honed their specialized powers as much as possible and have started picking up on other powers that are not natural to them. Mom and Dad actually put half-ghosts in this category, although I disagree for two reasons: 1. Half-ghosts aren't natural, so it's not an evolutionary stage. 2. We really don't have the experience necessary to be put in this category. Dora, and unfortunately, her brother Aragon, both fit into this category with their experience, their ability to shape shift, and their similar mental complexities to a human.

"In the last category, we have level 90.1 – 99.9. They are very old, very powerful ghosts, not necessarily due to their actual power level, again, that has little to do with this scale, but through the sheer growth of their ideal or obsession. They are usually ancient, and often have gone through several stages of development, to a point where they've grown to encompass their obsession – even represent it at times. I usually only place one ghost I've met in this category, and that's Clockwork at a solid 98.9, although there are a couple of others who hover around 89 – 91 area." Like Pariah Dark and Ghostwriter. He actually wanted to put Clockwork at a 99.9 level, but his parents pointed out that he couldn't really control when he changed forms. Danny had only reluctantly conceded, as it didn't really seem to have an affect on his abilities or intelligence, but it was a little disconcerting. Sometimes, Danny wondered if the ancient ghost hadn't tried to get control over that particular aspect for that very reason. Clockwork's humor could be a tad sadistic at times.

"Ghosts can get that complex?" Jazz asked, looking as if she were trying to wrap her head around that fact.

Danny nodded. "They tend to have a lot more freedom when it comes to how they change and grow than humans. But it's a trade off. Stability isn't a given for humans, but most humans have a far surer future than a ghost just starting out."

Jazz looked troubled at that, but didn't really say anything.

The half-ghost frowned. "Jazz?" he asked.

She shook her head. "It's nothing. I just think... it's sad. So much potential lost."

Danny nodded in agreement. "Yeah. It's also why most ghosts attack first and ask questions later. It's in a ghost's nature to be wary of other sentients. Only those who are powerful enough can afford to be merciful."

"That doesn't strike me as a very healthy society."

"Probably not," her brother agreed, "but there are a lot of things about our society that aren't healthy too."

"True," Jazz conceded with a sigh. She looked tired... really tired. It occurred to Danny that he'd dumped a lot on her in a rather short amount of time, and that maybe he needed to let her rest. Maybe he should go figure out how to get his parents out of the basement instead of just waiting around. It would give her time to process.

"Hey, I'm gonna go see what Mom and Dad are up to," the half-ghost said as he stood and leaned over the bed, reaching under the pillow and pulling out his thermos. "You should get some sleep."

"I have to finish –"

"You can finish it tomorrow. You look like you need some rest. Please?"

Jazz bit her lip, looked at Danny, and then back at the homework still scattered across her bed.

"Okay," she finally replied. "I'll go to bed if you promise me that you'll do the same soon."

Her brother grinned. "Promise," he said as he walked to the door, opened it and strode into the hall. Now he had to figure out how to get his parents to leave their experiments alone for a couple of minutes so he could get Skulker back to the zone.

Danny found it amusing that all it took was a dropped suggestion about how ghosts could be out in the town right now for his parents to decide to take the rest of the night to go searching (he couldn't send in an anonymous tip this early... he'd tried that and had gotten yelled at by the lady who had answered the phone when he'd called 911). Their son sighed and released Skulker back into the Ghost Zone. The ghost kept yelling 'I will be back' as the portal closed.

That wouldn't keep Skulker away, he knew. It worried him because Danny was used to having powers like ecto-blasts and shields to fight the hunter. He didn't have that now, and he couldn't rely on their fallback by having Tucker hack into the suit without their back-door into his system in place. Was the suit even high-tech enough to hack into at this point?

After a couple of seconds of contemplation, Danny called Tucker.

"Hey, Tuck," he said. "There's a new ghost after me and he seems to have a thing with purple back gorillas. Would you mind trying to find time in our schedule tomorrow to buy some magazines and check out books on it? Maybe we can even schedule a trip to the zoo or something?"

"Why should I put it into my schedule?" Tucker asked, confused. "I rarely pay attention to my schedule."

For a moment Danny wanted to tell Tucker everything... but then, he'd always wanted to tell Tucker everything. But he had his reasons for not doing so, and as far as he knew, they were sound. So he just forced a smile onto his face, hoping his friend would hear it.

"Well, I don't have a PDA."

"Didn't you just get a day planner?"

Fudge. Sometimes Tucker could be as oblivious as Danny used to be (still was at times, if he were honest with himself). Sometimes, Tucker could be far too observant.

"You... don't want to come?" Danny asked, feeling a little guilty for manipulating his friend. He owed them big for this.

"Are you sure you don't want to be alone with Sam?" Tucker asked dryly.

It wasn't his fault. He couldn't know how Danny's stomach sank at that thought. From his perspective, his friends were attracted to each other and in hard-core denial. That was not the case anymore, which was why Danny had no problem saying what he said next, as strained as he suddenly sounded.

"No. I... really don't, Tuck. Please.. could you come with us?"

A pause. "Is everything okay between you and her, Danny?"

Too perceptive.

So he went with the truth.

"I... can't, right now, Tuck. It isn't Sam's fault, it's mine. It's all mine... but I can't say anything without ostracizing her and... I don't know what I'd do if I lost her as a friend. Or you for that matter."

"Hey, dude, I'm not going anywhere."

He hadn't thought Tucker would. A little part of his chest still eased at that.

"Thanks, Tuck. I know you aren't. I just... need time."

"Is it... because of the portal? Does it have something to do with the accident."

He really couldn't answer 'yes' without giving Tucker the wrong idea. "Partially..." that would have to be good enough. "It's... hard to explain. Look, I plan on talking about it, with both of you, but..."

"I get it. We'll back off. Won't stop me from trying to figure it out on my own, though. Fair warning."

A fond smile found its way on to the half-ghost's lips. "I wouldn't expect it any other way. So... zoo tomorrow? And a couple of stops for a magazine and some library research?"

"Yeah. Somehow, I don't think Sam will be upset. Isn't the purple-back gorilla an endangered species?"

"Yeah, I think so too."

"I wonder why a ghost would be interested in it."

"Well, he is a hunter."

A pause. "How about we just tell Sam that, sit back and watch the fireworks."

Danny's smile morphed into a vindictive grin. "I'll bring the popcorn."

Tucker snorted. "I'll put it all down in the schedule and we can compare notes."

"We don't have to follow it, but I'd like some reminders."

"Well, why didn't you just say that before?"

Danny rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Good night, Tuck."

"Yeah, yeah. See you tomorrow.

"Oh, and Danny?"

"Yeah?" the half-ghost asked, curious as to the suddenly serious tone his best friend took.

"I'll be here... you know, when you're ready to talk."

That had been hard for him to say, Danny could tell. That knowledge made the gesture all the more thoughtful and sweet.

"Thanks, Tuck. Sometimes I don't think I deserve a friend as good as you."

"Darn straight. I'm almost flawless."

"Good night, Tuck," Danny said again, although the smile on his face undermined what he'd meant to be a wry tone. It probably came across as more fondly exasperated than anything.

"Yeah, 'night dude."

Danny hung up his phone and stared at it for several seconds. If everything went remotely as it had before, and Skulker took Tucker's PDA, they'd have their back door into his suit. Tucker would still lose his gear, though. Danny made a mental note to pay for another one... he'd really have to get a job or something – find a way to make money. That wouldn't be easy, but if he'd learned something from the last fifteen years of his life, it was how to make things up to people... and how to be prepared. He'd also learned that one was rarely, truly prepared. So he'd plant the seed... just in case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: So I was thinking about how to categorize different ghosts and came up with this GEV scale, and was fleshing it out. Then I realized that Box Ghost is technically more well rounded than Skulker and my mind kind of imploded for a moment. So the GEV scale does not necessarily contribute to a ghost's danger level. It's just a general rule of thumb to go by because we all know Skulker is far more dangerous than many other ghosts we come across. LOL
> 
> It was also a last-minute addition, fyi.
> 
> Also! For those of you who don't know (there are people reading this simply because I wrote it? HOW COOL IS THAT?! I LOVE YOU GUYS!), in the original Episode, Danny was doing some overnight Zoo research on the Purple-backed gorillas, and Tucker was trying to help Danny manage his time better so he'd have more time to fight ghosts and still get good grades. Skulker came along and integrated Tucker's pda into his ghost suit and some compatibility issues popped up -- Skulker couldn't reprogram the device and it would make him do whatever happened to be next on the schedule. Even in later episodes that backdoor was something they could use to hack into Skulker's suit if necessary. Danny wants that backdoor back. 
> 
> Thank you so much to LittleSnowyRascal9842 for Beta reading! Much luv!


	11. Planning

Danny stared at the list on the notebook sitting innocently atop the desk in front of him. After everything that had happened with the Box Ghost and Skulker, Danny decided that he really needed a plan for the future. He knew very well that plans never survive first contact, but having something to go forward with had been something he'd come to rely on. Actually, it surprised him that he hadn't thought to do this before.

Well, he'd done it now, and was rather glad he did. There were ghosts that he would have to prepare for. Ember, Desiree, Plasmius... and later on, he'd have to deal with Freakshow, the government and the Guys in White. Actually, he'd have to get on that one as soon as he could figure out how to. After he'd outed himself in his previous timeline, they'd come after him with a vengeance, and their legal team was far superior to their field teams...

It had been a long, messy process that he'd only really gotten through because he'd had the public's support. If he could nip that in the bud now, all the better.

But first thing was first. So he'd created several lists. The first: a list of ghosts he would have to watch out for and hopefully get on better terms with this time around:

_Skulker  
_ _Technus  
_ _Pointdexter  
_ _Desiree  
_ _Ember  
_ _Youngblood (and parrot)  
_ _Vlad  
_ _Walker  
_ _Johnny 13  
_ _Kitty  
_ _Spectra  
_ _Bertrand  
_ _Fright Knight (potentially)  
_ _Pariah Dark (potentially)  
_ _Aragon  
_ _Nocturn  
_ _Undergrowth  
_ _Ghostwriter  
_ _The Observants  
_ _Amorpho  
_ _Vortex (potentially)_

And that was just in the first couple of years, that he could remember. He didn't count anything that didn't really seem sapient when he'd initially fought it – most of the ghost animals he'd come across and the general amorphic blobs with little to no ability to think – and he didn't count anyone he'd met in the last decade or so... and he was still pretty sure he'd forgotten a couple...

Well, it would come to him eventually.

He glanced back at the list, and went over it one more time. It was funny how many bad situations and first impressions he could avoid or change with a little bit of planning, or if he didn't just go _looking_ for trouble. Really, he'd been an idiot at the age of fourteen. It was a wonder he'd survived at all. Well, half-survived. That really said it all right there.

Mostly, his goal at this point was to speed along to better situations for both ghosts and humans this time around, and that would require some better first impressions. He knew very well that he wouldn't be everyone's best friend, but if he could get on better terms initially, that could help immensely.

Like Walker, for instance. He doubted he'd ever get along with the corrupt sheriff and didn't doubt the ghost would still try to arrest him if they ran across each other because their rules didn't coincide, but writing down a physical copy of his own rules that he would follow could at least make the warden stop and think.

Or the Observants. Sure, he hadn't really had too many run-ins with them over the years, but he knew they didn't like him... and honestly, he couldn't really blame them. They'd seen what he could do if pushed too far and it had scared him just as much as it had them, in all honesty. But that future was gone now, so maybe he didn't have to actively avoid them out of wariness or pure shame. That would be nice. They'd been part of the talks for making a recognizable government that could interact with Earth's governments, but they'd also been some of the biggest naysayers when it came to actually building something that worked. Part of him was sure they'd done it out of spite, even though they hadn't directly said anything negative to or about him as far as he knew. They honestly just seemed like cantankerous old farts to him – ghosts stuck in their ways who refused to change. Well, maybe he could fix that a little this time around. Or at least make it a little better.

Of course, then there were ghosts like Spectra... and he wasn't even going to try to negotiate with her. He didn't have that level of psychological skill to avoid all of her traps, and he knew it. Heck, Jazz had had to be on her game to contend with Spectra in the future. He didn't want to see the damage Spectra could do to this Jazz – let alone anyone else – at this point. So the ghost would, as far as he was concerned, get a one-way ticket back to the Ghost Zone and a one-time warning... if he was feeling generous (unless he could catch her in something red-handed, then she started accumulating days for however many people she hurt). Part of him just wanted to shove her into a thermos, phase said thermos into the wall by his closet and forget about her. But he also knew he couldn't condemn her for future actions she hadn't actually committed yet.

Oh, he was so going to get video proof of it all this time around.

(He made a mental note to check up on his camera.)

It still bothered him that he was forgetting some ghosts... but he couldn't seem to come up with names or even faces at the moment, so he put it to the side for now. He'd remember them soon enough, he had little doubt.

His eyes moved to the next list, one of humans he'd need to look out for:

_GIW  
_ _Other ghost hunting groups  
_ _Valerie (potentially)  
_ _Vlad  
_ _Mom and Dad  
_ _Freakshow_

He considered putting in the names of kids and teachers from school, but he honestly wasn't worried about them at this point. He'd still have to make sure he didn't use his powers in front of them (that was going to be a pain to remember), but as long as he didn't do that... well, no one else had figured it out the first time around.

He moved on.

A list of current allies:

_Sam  
_ _Tucker  
_ _Jazz  
_ _Clockwork  
_ _Lunch Lady (WEIRD)  
_ _Dora (not her kingdom)_

A list of potential friends:

_Frostbite and the Far Frozen  
_ _Wulf  
_ _Cujo (name-change pending)  
_ _Pandora  
_ _Valerie (tentatively)  
_ _Mom and Dad (tentatively)  
_ _Ghostwriter (tentatively)  
_ _Technus (tentatively)  
_ _Ember (tentatively)_

Those last two would take some work, but could pay off later. He was beginning to get the idea of a plan together already. It would take a lot of prep work and a lot of negotiation, but it could potentially head off a lot of problems in the future.

And finally, a list of inventions and artifacts to look out for:

_Infimap  
_ _Ring of Rage  
_ _Crown of Fire  
_ _Soul Shredder  
_ _More or less anything Mom and Dad invent (but especially the BOOmerang)  
_ _Pandora's Box  
_ _Plasmius Maximus  
_ _Freakshow's staff  
_ _ **ECTORANIUM COMET  
** _ _ **REALITY GAUNTLET** _

He knew he was missing a bunch more on that particular list too, but it happened so long ago... And he was focusing mainly on the first couple of years. He'd keep other future events and artifacts he'd have to look out for in mind, but these, he figured, would be the best to start with.

Those last two were bolded and underlined with several stars and a couple of exclamation points for good measure. He had almost two years before the comet, but he didn't want to wait for Freakshow to get the Reality Gauntlet before he addressed that problem. And while part of him _really wanted _to keep something like that around for backup, he realized how utterly dangerous that was. He didn't have a place to really keep it at this point, and while part of him wanted to take it to Clockwork and just hand it over, part of him just wanted to destroy the thing like last time and be done with it. He'd have to weigh different plans and outcomes.

Which also meant he'd probably have to make a board with everything on it that he could hide or take out as needed just so he could keep all of this straight.

Great, just one more thing to add to the list.

Aaaand the pencil he'd been tapping against his knee just fell through his hand, rolled off of his leg and landed on the floor.

He groaned. Even with all of the conscious exercising of his core and powers, they still acted up. He hadn't been banned from handling anything glass in science this time around, but it was already a near thing (and he'd already been avoiding touching anything glass or otherwise breakable as it was).

Grumbling, he reached down, picked the pencil up and went over the last list he'd made.

Other long-term goals:

_Dismantle the GIW – or restructure  
_ _Get better PR (Get a rep?)  
_ _Introduce 'Danny Phantom' to the public and actually answer questions after fights if possible_  
_Help build a recognized Ghost Zone government  
_ _Ecto-rights!_

Because the Guys in White had almost gotten a hold of him when they'd claimed he wasn't human and therefore had no rights under the laws of the United States. That had been terrifying. They'd had to prove he was sapient and then push to make the government replace the word 'human' with 'sapient entity' in every current law. And then they'd had to define what a 'sapient entity' was and make all sorts of amendments and references. It had been a huge mess and he'd like to avoid that this time around if at all possible. Or at least streamline.

So, if he introduced himself as a ghost, brought up his reluctance to talk because he didn't technically have any rights and could the town at least please change that?

Hmm, maybe it would be better to wait for his parents to be on board? They'd been a _huge_ help and support last time. He thought it over and eventually decided that he didn't have time to wait. And his parents _needed_ to come to terms with the fact that ghosts could be sapient and weren't necessarily evil.

No, he'd have to go through with starting for ecto rights on his own... and he'd have to start preparing right away. If he could get in contact with a certain ghost already in the world right now...

Hmm.

He opened his day planner (he hated how he thought it was quaint – made him feel old and kind of snobbish) and began to make some plans. His grounding was up this weekend... Yes, that could work. As of today, he could look up some reporters and pick one of the more reputable ones to approach about them getting exclusive interviews in exchange for painting him in at least a neutral or positive light. Once he got an income, they could discuss more... and he could set up an appointment for next week, after school sometime. Or maybe approaching a lawyer would be better? Someone to back him up legally would helps immensely.

Moving on, he could take a trip into the Ghost Zone to get the Ring of Rage and then take it over to Clockwork's for safe-keeping because he doubted Vlad could get in there. The Ring wasn't nearly as potentially problematic as the reality gauntlet, but it was something he could take care of and nip in the bud right now.

Of course... that brought up Vlad too. Was it possible to approach the other half-ghost so that they would be on less hostile terms? He wasn't sure, but he had a few ideas...

Either way, his next couple of weeks would prove to be busy, and he had his work cut out for him.

He made one more note to get a board he could hide behind a poster or something. A whiteboard, perhaps? Writing on something like that would likely be better than notes on a cork board or the like. So a decent-sized white-board and magnets. Maybe his parents had one? He wouldn't be surprised, they were inventors after all.

Nodding to himself, he finished writing, put his notebook in the bottom drawer of his desk, grabbed his day planner and turned to head downstairs. He'd have to prepare for Skulker today too, because if the ghost _didn't_ attack Danny, he'd be shocked.

xXx

Turned out his parents _did_ have a white board they were happy to let him use. They even gave him permission to screw some nails into the wall to hang it. Danny told them it was for a project (he specifically didn't say school) and that he didn't want anyone else to see it. So he even got permission to hide the thing. Of course, his parents would know where it was if they ever got curious, but he doubted they would, and Jazz already knew his secret.

All in all, Danny counted the morning as productive as he flew to school. Invisibly in case Skulker was lurking out of the range of his ghost sense.

He met up with Tucker and Sam and then went to their first period class. Five minutes before it let out, his ghost sense went off. Repressing a sigh, he asked to go to the bathroom. The teacher wasn't too keen on letting him go, seeing as they were about to be let out, so Danny just waited tensely, hoping that Skulker wouldn't attack anyone.

Thankfully, he didn't. He let Sam and Tucker know that there was a ghost and for them to be on their guard.

Nothing happened. He went to his locker, and then checked the news. Still nothing.

Frowning, Danny decided to go to second period. Maybe it hadn't been Skulker? If it was just the Box Ghost and he wasn't actually hurting or scaring anyone, Danny had no issues just letting him be until he had more time to take care of it.

Also, his ghost sense told him that the ghost wasn't in range anymore.

Reluctantly, and making sure to remain on edge, Danny went to his second period class... and nothing happened. He didn't normally have time to pit-stop at his locker before his third period class (physics, yay!) or his fourth period class (business, ugh). Then he had lunch... and if Skulker were to attack it would likely be then.

He still kept an eye out during the next two periods.

When the lunch bell rang, he met up with Sam and Tucker, dropped by his locker, still looking around suspiciously. His locker was in an out-of-the-way hall that didn't see a whole lot of traffic, even now it stood practically empty.

He was expecting what had happened last time – he specifically remembered Tucker being attacked because he ate Danny's lunch. He also remembered being attacked at his locker, but earlier in the day, after English. Because he hadn't been attacked then this time around, he wasn't expecting Skulker to have booby-trapped his locker at all.

At least, that was what he told himself later, because there really wasn't any excuse for him to be on edge, _expecting_ an attack, and still not able to fully dodge the chains that came at him the moment he opened the metal door.

The fact that he didn't have a whole lot of muscle memory yet didn't help either.

"AAAHHHH!" he yelled as he slammed into the lockers behind him and the ghost chains finished wrapping around him (were they sentient? Or being controlled by Skulker's will? And it was still strange to him that he had to ask that question, even after all these years). He tried to phase through them, but unsurprisingly, they didn't allow it.

"Danny!" Sam and Tucker yelled together, rushing towards him.

Before they could get to him, though, Skulker appeared in their way, causing them to stop. He stood, facing Danny, with a huge grin on his face. "You walked right into my trap."

Danny sighed. "Yeah, I deserved that."

"Danny!" Sam admonished.

"What?" he responded, "I was expecting an attack and he _still_ got me. Point to Skulker."

"Of course! I am the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter."

"I can see it," Danny conceded.

"Really?" Skulker asked, sounding surprised and delighted.

"Yeah. That was brilliant."

"Thank you! Now," he grabbed Danny by the ropes around his chest and lifted him off the ground. "It's time to put you on display."

Of course, as he turned to go, Sam and Tucker both stood in his way.

"Not happening, Dude!" Tucker said. Danny glanced down and saw that he still had his PDA in hand. Then he prayed for Skulker to notice it.

Sam spoke next. "It's against his rights to lock him away simply because you want to!"

"Yeah, dude! It goes against the constitution!"

"I do not abide by your laws," Skulker scoffed.

"Why not?" Danny asked.

"Because I am a ghost."

Danny raised an eyebrow. "But I'm at least part human, so _I _abide by them – well as best I can. Also, you're here, in the human world. I'm also claiming this as either my lair or my haunt, so don't you have to abide by the rules I put in place?"

The hunter-ghost grinned. "Only if you can enforce them."

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Someone down the hall screamed, and then the sound footsteps running in the other direction.

"It is time for us to leave," Skulker said, turning to Sam and Tucker and moving to glide between them.

They both held out their arms, even though Danny could also see them shaking. Right, this was one of their first ghost encounters, and Skulker could be intimidating. Gah, he loved his friends.

"You'll have to go through us!" Sam challenged.

"Yeah!" Tucker agreed, a little unsteady.

Thankfully, that's when Skulker noticed the PDA.

"What is that?" he asked, pointing to the hand-held device.

Tucker blinked and glanced at it before looking back up. "Um... my PDA?"

"What is a PDA?"

"Kind of like a personal, hand-held computer."

Skulker leaned closer. "So smooth and sleek..."

Before Tucker could do anything, Skulker reached over and plucked it out of his fingers.

"Hey!" the African-American protested. "I have three more payments on that!"

Skulker applied it to his suit and Danny couldn't help but grin in triumph. Thankfully, no one noticed.

Also, Skulker hadn't tied Danny's legs. That was his mistake.

Danny bent his knee back, then used just enough of his flight to pump it forward and upwards towards Sulker's robotic face. It didn't damage him much, but it did distract him enough to loosen his grip. The half-ghost managed to wrench himself out of Skulker's grip. He flipped over and landed on his feet in the hall. Then, pausing only long enough to redirect his momentum, he rushed forward.

Skulker's attention went from reveling in his new-found power to blinking in shock at Danny's forward charge. The ghost laughed aloud.

"You think you can defeat me? With my new upgrade?!"

"My upgrade!" Tucker said angrily.

Danny didn't pay attention to either one of them. Instead he slid to the ground, right under Skulker's hands and between the mechanical legs. It took some doing to get to his feet on the other side, but he managed to do so before Skulker had fully turned around.

Which was why he was met with a ghost-enhanced kick to the chest that sent him sliding back down the hall.

Skulker just grinned wider.

"Such a worthy hunt!"

He went to step forward just as a familiar alarm went off. Stopping, he glanced down at the PDA now attached to his arm in surprise. Danny had forgotten how amusing that expression was on Skulker.

"Go to newspaper stand, pick up article on purple-back gorilla?"

Danny grinned as Skulker's suit followed the 'command', using retractable rockets to shoot him through the ceiling. He went intangible just in time. Also, with the distance from them, the ropes on Danny vanished.

And that's when a student and Mr. Lancer came rushing down the hall.

"Mr. Fenton! Ms. Manson! Mr. Foley! Are you alright? I was told there was a robot here?"

Danny looked to see a worried Mikey following the out-of-shape teacher down the hall.

"Uh, yeah. A ghost robot. But he's gone now."

The bald teacher didn't seem to know quite what to say to that. "Ghost robot? But how... why..." he paused and thought that through. "Ghosts don't exist," was what he finally settled on, but his tone sounded shaky and unsure.

Danny just shrugged. "I give it two weeks – three tops – before you change your mind. In any case, the robot is gone now."

"With my PDA!" Tucker complained.

Mr. Lancer just stared at them, still at a loss. Probably wondering how he could possibly report this incident to his superiors without looking completely insane.

"N-no one was hurt?" he asked.

The trio shook their heads.

"Do you... think it will come back?"

Danny grinned. "Undoubtedly. But don't worry, Mr. Lancer. We'll take care of it. He integrated Tucker's PDA into his suit, so now he can hack it." He turned to his friend. "Right, Tuck?"

Tucker looked shocked, staring at Danny with wide eyes. He blinked a couple of times before getting a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Hey, you're right. I gotta go get my other PDA."

Mr. Lancer looked like he really wanted to go home and crawl under his covers for the rest of the year. Danny could relate.

"How many of those do you have?" Sam asked.

"Just two," Tucker responded a little haughtily.

Danny shook his head at his friends' interaction before focusing on Mr. Lancer again. "Just tell Principal Ishiyama that's what we said, but because there was no damage there was no way to punish us."

Everyone, including a very jumpy Mikey, turned to stare at him.

"What? That's what you were thinking, right Mr. L?"

"Yes... actually. How did you know?"

Danny snorted. "You should hear some of the things people call my parents. Jazz has issues with it all the time, and that's what she'd be thinking – how to tell people what they need to know without looking completely insane."

"I... oh."

"Maybe you should stop by and speak to her for a bit," Danny suggested. "She might be able to give you some good tips."

"Um... thank you, Mr. Fenton," Mr. Lancer said uncertainly.

"No prob. Later, Mr. L, Mikey."

With that, he turned and motioned for Sam and Tucker to follow him. They still had to get lunch after all.

xXx

Danny went to the Purple-back gorilla cage that night, Sam and Tucker as backup in case his powers gave him issues. This time, Danny extracted a promise from Tucker that he wouldn't play around with the ghost, but would power him down the moment he got a chance. Tucker pouted, but conceded. So when Skulker showed himself, Tucker actually did as he'd asked.

"Well, that's two hours, minus about fifteen minutes," Danny said as he sucked the suit and the ghost into the thermos. "Oh, and remember, my terms are subject to change at any given point, although I'll do my best to keep you updated."

"Terms?" Sam asked as she and Tucker approached him.

Danny grinned at them. "Yup. My haunt, my rules."

"What's this about 'haunts' and 'lairs' anyway?" Tucker asked.

"Well, ghosts usually live in lairs – either their own, or that of another, more powerful ghost. Most lairs are behind doors and portals, but some have them in the open of the main area of the Ghost Zone. Lairs are where a ghost can rest and feel at least somewhat protected. Because I actually and actively _live_ here in Amity Park, it could be considered a lair. But the Ghost Zone Council might not accept that because it is in the real world. In which case, I'm claiming this as my haunt. Ghosts tend to be rather territorial."

His friends just stared at him.

"Um... Dora and the Lunch Lady talked to me about it."

Realization came to their eyes and Danny let out a mental breath of relief that they'd bought it. He still wasn't ready to approach everything with them yet. He knew he'd have to eventually, just... not now.

"So Dora's still showing up for her sessions?" Tucker asked.

"It's only been a week, Tuck," Danny replied blandly. "Why would she quit so soon?"

Tucker shrugged. "Just checking."

"I think it's great," Sam said as Danny phased them through the outside wall of the zoo and they began their trek home. "You have someone who can explain things to you, and she gets the support she needs to change her backward way of thinking."

Danny could have said something to that, but decided against it. He didn't entirely disagree with her, but the general attitude of 'they're wrong, I'm right and they need to change' was something that tended to get on his nerves. She'd gotten better in the future and so had his parents. Which was just another thing he'd have to address because he still wasn't on the best of terms with them.

"In any case, every time a ghost comes through the portal outside of negotiated times or to hurt Amity Park, they'll get more time in the thermos."

Tucker nodded his head. "Not a bad idea... although you might have to make more thermoses."

"Mom and Dad are already in the process," Danny replied with a smile.

"Good," said Sam.

They walked in silence for several more seconds before Tucker spoke up.

"Hey, isn't your grounding up this weekend?"

"Yup," Danny replied. He'd only been able to come to the 'zoo research' because Danny had convinced his parents it was an extra credit report. It technically wasn't untrue as it had been his extra credit report in another life. He could even throw one together if they inquired about it later. "Speaking of which, would you guys cover me this weekend?"

His friends paused and blinked at him. "Cover you?" Tucker asked.

"For what?" Sam, that time.

"Well, there's something I want to check out, but it'll take a while to fly there and back."

The other two exchanged glances.

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"There's this rising star that I think might be a ghost... and she's scheduled to come to Amity Park in a couple of months. I just... want to make sure."

"Rising star?" Sam asked.

Danny nodded. "Ever heard of Ember McLain?"

"Yeah, dude. She's got some pretty cool music. Nothing to write home about but..." he paused. "Wait, you think she's a ghost? Why?"

"Well," Danny shrugged, "it's more how quickly she rose to fame, and the fact that no one seems to know what town she came from. I just feel... off about her, you know? And her big tour is going to come to Amity Park as it's finale. Not New York or L.A. or even Chicago. Amity Park."

Sam looked confused. "Why would she do that? We're not exactly the biggest city in the US. We'd be a good place to stop, but not a finale."

"Exactly," Danny replied. "If she's a ghost, then she probably wants the energy the portal gives off for whatever her plan is."

"I dunno, Danny," Sam said. "It may not make sense, but she could have good reason for it."

"That's why I just want to check it out," he assured her. "I'm just going to pop over to see if there's anything fishy. It's likely there isn't, but it'll be worth looking in to."

"And why can't we come with you?" Tucker asked, folding his arms over his chest defiantly.

Danny smiled nostalgically. It had been a while since someone asked that. He really had missed having these guys around, even if they could get a little smothering. "Mainly because I'm going to have to fly to Pennsylvania, where she is now, to check it out, and I don't think I can carry you guys with me." Which was true. His parents hadn't built the Specter Speeder just yet and he still had issues controlling his powers.

At least he hadn't had an issue with turning back to Fenton when he didn't want to this time around, but he didn't want to be flying at his top speed (undoubtedly much slower than he was used to, but still very quickly) invisibly several feet above the Earth just to have it fail on him and drop his best friends.

"I don't like you going without backup," Sam said softly. "What if you're right and she _is_ a ghost?"

"Depends," Danny replied with a shrug. "I mean, the whole world isn't my haunt, so if she's not hurting anyone I probably won't do much of anything than let her know that Amity is claimed as a haunt and if she wants to come here, she'd better follow my rules."

"You're not going to... stop her or something?" Sam asked.

"Stop her from doing what? Getting popular? Not if she's using legit means to do it."

"And if she's not?"

Danny smiled at her (and if it was a little sad and nostalgic, he doubted they'd be able to tell). "I won't fight her, Sam. Not until she comes to Amity. Unless there's something particularly nasty going on, and in that case I'll call you guys first, okay?"

They didn't look happy, but they both nodded anyway. Danny seemed to have forgotten just how much he loved these guys.

"What will we do if a ghost comes to town while you're gone?" Tucker asked.

Danny frowned. "The best you can until I get back," he said as firmly as he could. "Mom has a 9th degree black belt, so if you can get her to help, that might not be a bad idea."

"I hate to break it to you, Danny, but your parents aren't exactly the most observant. Even when it comes to ghosts."

"Point," he conceded, "but it'll be better than nothing. I'll hurry back as fast as I can."

"What will we be doing if we're here and you're not?"

Danny blinked at them. "Whatever you want?" It wasn't like he ran their lives or anything.

Sam's expression turned dry. "I mean, we need to get our story straight."

"Oh," Danny replied with a grin. "Well, I plan on telling my parents that we're going camping to celebrate my freedom. Jazz can cover for me and my parents likely won't bother yours, so that shouldn't be an issue unless a ghost shows up. Ideas for reasons why you're there and I'm not?"

"We could say we got back early but got separated in the chaos?" Tucker suggested.

"If there's chaos," Sam pointed out.

It was Tucker's turn to shoot a dry look at her. "You really expect there to be a ghost and no chaos at all?"

"He has a point," Danny said. "So yeah, that actually sounds like a great idea. If that doesn't work, tell them a ghost kidnapped me or something like that. I'd prefer not to use that one, but it's better than being confronted about awkward questions I won't be able to answer."

The two friends nodded. "Right," they said together.

Danny grinned and pulled both of them in for a hug. "I have the best friends ever."

"And don't you forget it," Sam said with her own smile.

"What she said," Tucker agreed.

"Thanks, guys... for everything," Danny whispered, knowing he wasn't just talking to the two people in front of him, but his two friends from his memories. The two who had refused to give up on him even when their lives weren't congruent anymore. It had been difficult, but they'd been determined to make it work. There was no way the half-ghost could ever forget that.

"No worries, dude," Tucker responded. Danny just squeezed them a little tighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a lot happening here, but I needed a set-up/planning chapter and kind of think even this might be a little late.
> 
> Thank you so much to LittleSnowyRascal9842 for Beta reading!


	12. Ember

Danny got permission to go 'camping' from his parents (reluctantly, things were still tense between them and him), and while he felt badly for lying to them again, in his defense he was in actuality a 30-year-old man and could very well look after himself (was used to it, in fact). Besides, this was something that had to be done.

He packed for a weekend trip, with food and a sleeping bag and a couple of changes of clothes, a jacket and some Fenton Gear (his father was so proud). Then he set off to meet up with Sam and Tucker, who went over a couple of last-minute things and got the thermos and some other detection and defense items from Danny. He didn't need it as much as they did. He still took a couple of blasters himself, but other than that, he figured he was pretty good.

Then he set off, flying until it got dark. He found a good patch of wooded land that didn't look like it had anything dangerous and settled down for the night after his dinner of nutra-grain bars. It was cold that night, but he actually enjoyed it and got up fairly refreshed the next morning to keep flying.

Of course, it could never be that simple. He had a rather shocking run-in with a rattlesnake wrapped around his bag that convinced him to turn intangible, turn his bag intangible, and then stay intangible.

Calmly, and concentrating on keeping up his intangibility the whole time, he made his way back to his sleeping bag, grabbed that, and flew a couple of minutes away before stopping so he could roll his temporary bedding up.

"I didn't even know they _had _rattlesnakes around here anymore," he grumbled to himself. Then he situated the pack on his tired shoulders again and took off in the direction of Pennsylvania.

He got there just after 2 in the afternoon, which was actually better than he'd been planning on initially. So he bought himself a burger at a Wendy's (they didn't have a Nasty Burger where he stopped) and then got about finding where Ember would be today. She had a concert tonight, and would likely be getting that set up, so he had to find the arena where Ember would be performing.

xXx

Ember McLain had been incredibly lucky about two years prior to stumble across a natural portal into the human world. Not just that, but her obsession and powers allowed her to feed off of the emotions of the humans around her, so she could actually _stay_ there and figure out a way to fulfill her obsession. It was perfect and she'd thanked her lucky stars that she'd _finally _stumbled across some good luck.

Of course, getting back into the music biz was hard. She didn't have a background or a story she could actually tell, and so she tended to say that she'd been born at home and raised in the back streets of New York, so she didn't have a birth certificate or much of a past. When people started questioning beyond that, she just used her guitar to temporarily brainwash them (even then, it was a draining technique) and that had been that. Hey, if it worked...

It had been hard work, even without that particular handicap, but it had been so rewarding when people began to hear about her.. they _remembered _her, and the elation she'd felt had been nothing short of exquisite.

She still had a secret to keep, though, so she kept to herself, not making a whole lot of friends, but gathering a veritable army of acquaintances. She'd even met some other ghosts who had been in the business longer, and while they hadn't gotten along, they hadn't exactly been out for each other's blood either.

All in all, she'd been content... until her ghostly contacts had disappeared.

She didn't know if her rival had been captured by the humans (she'd heard _stories_) or if they'd fulfilled their obsession, but either way it had shaken Ember. She'd thought she'd been untouchable and then...

So she'd upped her game, used a little bit more power for greater returns so if something untoward did come her way, she'd be able to take care of it. It had been risky, but she had more power than ever, and while she didn't seem to be fulfilling her obsession as much, it was a risk/benefit she was temporarily willing to trade off on.

She didn't expect 'untoward' to show up in the guise of a teenager with a calming, nonchalant grin on his face.

Oh, and he was a ghost too.

"Found you!" he said as she stepped into her trailer-home after a particularly grueling recording session. She'd just closed her door and he was there, leaning against the wall by the door to her tiny bathroom.

For a moment, neither of them really moved, both just staring at each other. Then she blinked and whipped her guitar out, more than ready to strike, except he held up his hands in a placating gesture.

"Hey, I just want to talk. That's all."

She frowned and didn't put her guitar away, poised to strike a chord the moment he made any sudden moves.

"Then talk, Babypop."

He blinked, then rubbed the back of his head. "I don't look that young, do I?"

She just raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

He sighed. "So, guess I should introduce myself: I'm Danny Phantom." He held his hand out.

"Wow. Original," Ember replied, not making a move to take the appendage.

"Right," he said, sounding disappointed. Ember thought he should get used to it or the world would chew him up and spit him out. If she didn't get to him first. "Fine, fine. I'll get to the point. You're coming to Amity Park later on this year."

She blinked. "What of it?"

He grinned. "I'm claiming it as my haunt."

More blinking. "Seriously?"

"Yup. So here are the ground rules – no hurting humans, no brainwashing, no killing, avoid violence or big spectacles that would draw attention specifically to ghosts. No overshadowing – or possession – and if you can stick to those rules, we'll get along just fine."

Ember frowned, although she'd relaxed a little bit. If he wanted to fight her, they'd already be fighting. Instead, he'd come to warn her... and honestly, she could appreciate that.

She still had to ask.

"And what if I don't?"

His grin took on a hard edge. "Then we do things the hard way and I toss you back in the Ghost Zone."

Her frown turned into a full-on, angry grimace and she renewed her stance. "What makes you think you can?"

The boy didn't look frightened in the least. "Well, we could fight right here and we'll both see who's the strongest, or you could wait until then and we could fight and I'll find a way to shock off your mind-control. That is a pretty good way to disrupt most ghost-oriented brainwashing."

Ember's jaw tightened. "You can't prove that I brainwashed anyone!"

The boy rolled his eyes. "Come on. With how quickly you've risen in popularity recently? There isn't any way you're _not_ brainwashing people. The thing is, I've heard your music. You're good enough as it is. You don't have to brainwash people to like you. Besides, even if it feeds your powers, do you honestly think it will feed your obsession? Deep down you know that this won't make anyone remember you."

With an angry growl, she struck a chord. The boy dodged the wave of energy easily, but Ember figured that she'd gotten the point across. There was a reason ghosts didn't address their obsessions aloud.

"How did you know that?!" she yelled.

"Please. 'You will remember my name?' It's in your single. All someone had to do was figure you're a ghost."

Ember cursed herself internally. She should have known insisting on this song to be her cover piece was a bad idea. But so few ghosts could manifest on this plain, let alone masquerade as a human. Ever since that permanent portal had been opened, it was easier to keep her form, and it got easier the closer to it she got, which was why she'd wanted to have her final concert be in Amity Park. Of course another ghost had moved in there. It was a given. She'd just hoped she'd be able to get there fast enough... but it had been a long shot.

"And what's up with you?" she asked harshly. "There's something off about you. Are you really a ghost, or do you just know about us?"

He raised an eyebrow. "How long have you been away from the Zone? I know my kind are a bit rare, so I would have thought you'd have heard about it by now." He tipped his head to one side, as if studying her. For the life (or afterlife) of her, she couldn't see any sort of malice or anger towards her. Just curiosity.

It was unnerving.

She didn't respond, simply staring at him expectantly.

The boy sighed and looked around, as if making sure they were alone. Ember expected an attack and moved her hand just a little closer to her guitar. She'd get in the first shot if it came down to it.

"I am a ghost," he said just as two white rings formed around his middle and separated. Ember felt her jaw drop in surprise as he _changed_. She could still feel his ecto-signature if she concentrated, but only barely. It was as if he were...

"I'm also human. Half-ghost, Halfa, Part-ghost, Interchangeable Being, Hybrid, whatever you want to call it."

Her hand had gone slack and she could only stand there, staring at the _very human_ kid in front of her.

"Look," he said when he realized she wasn't going to say anything in response to his change, "I'm not going to do anything if you're not hurting anyone. That's all I ask. Don't use your ghost powers to hurt people and I'd even be happy to _help_ you."

That brought her out of her shock long enough to be suspicious. "The last I heard, there was only one Hybrid out there, and you don't exactly fit the description."

"Eh, I'm kinda new. I'm also a lot more stable than he is... but that's a very lucky thing." He rubbed the back of his head nervously.

Ember didn't like this at all. Here was a kid who hadn't had to _die_ to get the kind of powers she'd had to claw her way into. She grit her teeth. "You shouldn't exist."

He frowned and his hand dropped. "I shouldn't exist because I'm still alive? Do you realize what kind of a fluke that was? FYI, I _did_ have to die. I was just... kind of revived after I got ghost powers..."

Well, that did make her feel a little better about it. It still unnerved her that he'd answered her unspoken question. "You a mind-reader?" she asked warily.

The boy snorted and shook his head. "Nope. Haven't been like this long enough to really get a handle on more than the basics, although I do have access to some pretty awesome ecto-technology. That attitude is... just something that I've... come across before. It's understandable, really. Ghosts want to live – often to finish the business they had in real life that kept them here _as_ ghosts. As much power as ghosts – even weak ones – can have compared to humans, they envy the living. I think it's considered a 'natural' vs. 'unnatural' thing in general ghost society, but I also think that's a load of bull. If ghosts weren't meant to exist, they wouldn't. Simple as that. We could go into hybrids and whether we should exist or not, but the point of the matter is, I did have to die first, so there's little to be jealous of." He paused and shuddered.

Ember bit her lip. She wanted to ask... but there were lines that even the worst ghosts wouldn't cross. Bringing up obsessions was a one-way ticket to a fight – often to the death (well, second death).

"You are still alive," she finally pointed out, voice still accusing. "That's something."

"Maybe," the boy – Danny – conceded. "But think about it: I'm pretty unique right now. This isn't something that's easily accepted by either humans or ghosts. That makes my life infinitely more difficult. I think that ghosts envy the living because the living have a chance to fulfill their obsessions and move on peacefully, but right now I have an obsession just like you. But if I fulfill it, my human body keeps me here."

He shrugged. "I'm not gonna lie. There are perks to being half-ghost. But there are some pretty nasty downsides too. Just like there are perks and downsides to being a full ghost or a full human. Sure, I'm pretty physically stable, but I have a lot of mental issues to work through – many of them ghostly, and I don't have the benefit of natural mutability that a ghost has to do it. I have the issues of both humans and ghosts, and have to find the balance between the two... and I don't exactly have an example to follow either. At least, not a sane one. Besides, I don't think the other half-ghost had to die. We're both inherently different, even if the end result was similar."

"Wow," Ember said, suddenly realizing that, while she still held her guitar, she'd completely relaxed. So she raised an eyebrow. "Do you ever shut up?'

He snorted. "You asked."

"I didn't want your afterlife story."

Danny shrugged. "I just wanted to set some things straight."

Ember, shuffled a little nervously again. "Um..."

He raised an eyebrow. "Somehow, you don't normally strike me as the uncertain type."

"Shut up," she shot back. "I wanted to ask something."

The mirth melted out of his expression. "You want to know how I died."

"Well... yeah."

Danny sighed. "Well, thank you for trying to be cautious about it. I was electrocuted with both electricity and ecto-energy. It sucked."

"I bet," she responded, wondering why she felt so... open around this kid. Well, turn about was fair play. He told her his... "I... died in a fire."

He got a pained look on his face that she _really_ didn't understand until he spoke. "Ouch. I think yours was worse. Mine was over pretty fast, as painful as it was."

"Yeah," she agreed, shuddering herself. It was actually really... well, cool of him to admit that, and did more to lay her fears to rest than everything else he'd said.

"So," she said, wanting to move on from the memories that conversation brought up, "you said something about helping me? Why would you do that?"

"Why not?" he shrugged. "If you're not hurting people or brainwashing them, I'd be happy to help you fulfill your obsession."

"But why?" she pressed, putting her free hand on her hip. "What's in it for you?"

"Well, it's more of a 'what's in it for us' kind of thing."

She raised a skeptical eyebrow. He'd better not go _there_. She was not about to get a boyfriend – even a fake one – when being single worked more to her advantage.

"Okay, that came out kinda wrong," he muttered. "30 years, and I still put my foot in my mouth."

It took some willpower to not crack a smile at that, but she managed to keep a deadpan expression as she waited for him to explain.

"Look, ghosts and humans interacting is kind of inevitable now that there's a permanent portal, but they're also... well, inherently different."

Ember snorted derisively, but didn't say anything else.

"As a hybrid, I'm going to be working with both ghosts and humans and want to see the process of integration be as... well, smooth as possible. I don't think ghosts will have as many issues accepting humans as humans will have at accepting ghosts."

Somehow, Ember didn't agree with that.

He must have caught something in her expression because he scratched the side of his face a little sheepishly. "Well, it'll be a case-by-case basis, I guess, but ghosts also don't often rally together. Humans do. And there are... well, some not-so-great people out there who will do everything they can to stop ghosts from integrating – mainly for their own perceived gain. Ghost hunters, the Guys in White... there's even a guy out there who controls ghosts with a staff, and I'm sure he's not the only one who has some relic that will grant power over ghosts.

"The problem is, we can't really do anything _but_ fight these people as they pop up because ghosts aren't recognized as sentient beings, therefore we have no rights." She noticed how he said 'we', like he thought of himself _as _a ghost... and wasn't quite sure how to feel about that. "Add to that the fact that ghosts tend to be more powerful, more mysterious and rather alien at times and is it any wonder that even now, some humans think that eliminating ghosts is the only answer?"

"So, let me get this straight, Babypop," she said, holding up a hand to get him to stop for a moment. "You want me to out myself as a ghost?"

Danny shook his head. "No, no. Actually, it will be better if you didn't. You see, I'm going to introduce myself as Amity Park's resident ghost – publicly. I will ask to be treated as a sentient being and move for laws to be changed to accommodate that. I want you to support that."

"And you don't think people will find that a little suspicious?" Ember asked, folding her arms over her chest. "Do you really think I'm the first ghost who's tried something like this? When people find out about them, they disappear. I don't know who or how, but it happens."

The blue-eyed boy just blinked at her. "Seriously?"

Ember rolled her eyes. "Uh, yeah. Why do you think I went the... well, the way I did." Because she still wasn't going to admit to anything. "The faster I get to the top, the better. Otherwise, I may not make it at all... ever."

"Oh," Danny replied, obviously trying to wrap his head around that. Then he tipped his head and began pacing again, tapping his chin as he did. Okay, this kid was kinda cute... in a little-brother kind of way.

"What if I could make you something that could hide your ecto-signature?"

Her eyes bugged out a bit. "You can do that?" Items like that were rather desirable in the Ghost Zone. Only the most powerful or well-connected ghosts could get their hands on those.

"Well... I'm not good at building things like that myself – not from scratch – but I'm decent at modifying stuff. I think I could get something fixed up... but it would likely suppress your ghost abilities too. At least while you're wearing it. I mean, I could make it really easy to take on or off. A belt? Hmm, a little obvious but not a bad idea. Might be good to start out with. Later, though? Earrings are too small and likely will be for some time. A necklace? A bracelet? Something disguised..." He paused, seeming to realize that he'd gone off on his own tangent and brought himself back to the here and now.

"If I can get you something that hides your ecto-signature, will you support ecto-rights?"

She frowned. "And how exactly could you help me?"

He smiled. "I have access to the permanent portal. It can't be unlimited access right now as I'm still trying to keep my half-ghost status away from the ghost-hunters, but I can get you access to the Ghost Zone and the real world. Heck, I'll even draw up a contract if you want it in writing."

Her eyes widened again. This kid was full of surprises.

"Huh. So you give me access to the Ghost Zone and a way to hide my ecto-signature, and I give you public support of ecto-rights?" Was there a downside to this? Well, yes. She'd really be putting herself out on a limb here, but...

"And you stop with the brainwashing."

She frowned. "Sometimes I have to. I don't exactly have a birth certificate or other documentation that allows me to hold a job."

"Hmm. I'll see what I can do about that too. Until then, though, how about no more _mass_ brainwashing?"

She just stared at him. "Are you for real? No one is that accommodating or nice."

His nervous tick of rubbing the back of his head showed itself again. "Well... my obsession revolves around protection... and I've found that helping people – especially people who pose a threat – gets me more allies than enemies."

"It also gets you a knife in the back," Ember replied, back to her typical deadpan.

Danny shrugged. "That's why I have to make it more beneficial to be my ally."

Ember snorted. "Shrewd."

He grinned at her, then held out his hand again. "So, I work on getting you that ecto-signature hider and let you in Amity Park, and you stop brainwashing people and come out in support of ecto-rights. If I get famous enough, we might even be able to work out a guest appearance in a show or something."

She couldn't help but return his smile as she reached forward and shook his hand. "I like the way you think."

"I look forward to working with you, Ember McLain."

"This should be fun, Danny Phantom." She let go of his hand and the rings were back, transforming him into a ghost again. "But I'm still calling you Babypop," she said as he jumped into the air.

He shook his head, but with a fond smile that seemed just a little out of place, although she couldn't say why.

"Somehow, I'm not surprised," he said before turning intangible and flying through the roof.

Ember sighed and looked around her trailer. Her guitar chord had made a bit of a mess of things, so she'd have to clean up and then start on another song. If she was going to stop brainwashing people, she'd better have some pretty awesome songs to make up for it.

xXx

When he got home, he found his parents rather blatantly _not_ waiting for him. He could tell they'd been concerned, but things had been strained between the adults and the children since the night of the Dance. Danny figured they'd have to address that at some point too. After all of the traveling he'd done that weekend, though, he really wasn't up to it at the moment.

That was, until something occurred to him. He could likely hit two birds with one stone if he played this right.

"Mom, Dad," he decided to say at dinner, "I know you're worried about me, but I can't stand this anymore. We're all walking on eggshells around each other... this is just... Ugh!"

His parents exchanged glances. "We're your parents. We're supposed to worry," Maddie said softly.

Danny just sighed. "Look, if you're that worried about a ghost influencing me, then why don't you make something that can filter out spectral noise? Or something that can protect a normal human from ecto energy or something?"

That would help them feel better, and Danny was sure he could modify one to block a ghost's ecto-signature.

Jazz was looking at him a little strangely, but he very pointedly rolled his eyes towards his parents and then back, asking for some support. She set down her fork and turned to Jack and Maddie. "And then, when we are subject to those and _still_ are of the opinion that you haven't studied enough ghosts and their interactions thoroughly enough to make a sociological or psychological call, then will you look at your biases?"

They didn't look quite as convinced, but Danny could see that they liked the idea. It would be a great compromise on all their parts at least, and then maybe they could put all of this behind them... for now. After all, he still wanted to convince them that ghosts were just as diverse as humans before he told them his secret. Well, his ghost secret.

"We'll get to work on those tonight!" Jack said loudly.

"Good," Jazz said, going back to her dinner and shooting Danny an 'I hope you know what you're doing' look.

"So, Danny, how was the camping trip?" Maddie asked.

"Well, other than the rattlesnake," Danny started.

"The _rattlesnake_?!" Jazz and Maddie both shouted.

Danny smiled at having successfully distracted them and sat back to tell the (heavily edited) tale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks once again for my beta, LittleSnowyRascal9842! Also, a huge shout out to everyone who reads and comments on the story. I appreciate it so much!
> 
> So, a chapter on Ember... who had to have been in the world long before that portal was built. Anything else is unrealistic to the extreme. I won't be getting to the GIW for a while, but don't worry, they're coming.


	13. Ms. Tang

Danny couldn't help but grin as he bounced down the sidewalk, even after he, Sam and Tucker had parted for the day. After all, he had his camera back and while the memory on it wasn't fabulous, it was something he could work with. He'd also gotten all the cords he'd need to upload whatever he recorded, and he felt like he had the ability to back himself up a bit more. It just made him feel that much more secure.

He was totally going to carry this thing everywhere. He just needed a case or something so he didn't end up breaking it on accident. Because that would very likely happen... a lot. Hmm, maybe he could talk to his parents? They were still on shaky terms with him and Jazz, and everyone _still _seemed to want to avoid the elephant in the room, but in all honesty, Danny had been through worse. After all, he and Sam had plowed through the awkwardness of keeping a friendship after a breakup. This was nothing in comparison.

Stuffing the camera in his backpack (carefully, of course), Danny walked into an alley way and transformed into Phantom. He should be right on time to get to his appointment – the one he'd only made two evenings ago. And he'd done his research too – at least what he_ could_ research. Honestly, the internet wasn't nearly as user friendly today as it had been (would be?) in the future. Still, it had been enough to help him make a choice. And truthfully, if this choice didn't work, he had a list of others, but still...

He'd also had to overshadow his father to get permission to take some money out of his savings to pay for this, so he really hoped it would be worth it. He really hated doing that to his parents.

It didn't take him long to find the right office. There were small signs all over the building with little arrows pointing to her business, for some reason. So he pushed open the door and noted the cozy reception room. It was decently sized, made up in creams and browns with just a few hints of blues and greens here and there. After a thorough scrutinizing of the place and seeing no threats or cameras, he entered fully, striding over to a window in the wall, where he stood quietly for a couple of seconds. A man was working on some paperwork behind the counter. It didn't take him long to look up, although when he did, he could only seem to blink and stare for several seconds.

Danny shifted uncomfortably.

"Um, hi. I'm... here for an appointment..."

The man blinked again, then shook his head and looked down. "Right. Sorry. What's your name?"

"Daniel Phantom."

The secretary paused for a moment before continuing on. "Ah, yes. Here we are. Um... do you have your parents with you?"

Danny bit his lip. "Uh... that's... well, no." Meeting people in the future, especially people he'd be relying on when it came to press and his rights, hadn't seemed nearly so worrying as it was now. Then again, he wasn't even sure he'd looked up the right kind of lawyer. His entire situation didn't exactly fall under an easy classification in the current state of affairs.

The man frowned. "If you're here looking for help with a custody case or something along those lines, Ms. Tang might not be the right lawyer for you. We deal specifically with—"

"Immigration cases... yeah. That's... why I'm here."

"Oh. Well, I see. Do you have any documentation? A birth certificate? Anything from another country? A green card?"

Again, Danny shook his head. It wasn't like he could give them his actual name, after all. That would kind of defeat the purpose of coming here. "Um... no."

The man didn't seem to know what to say to that. So he just ran a hand through his hair. "You sound like you speak English well. Can you write it? I can get another language if you need it."

"No, English is fine," Danny replied.

"Alright," the man said, handing over a clipboard. "Fill out whatever you can."

"Thanks," the half-ghost said, taking the pen the man held out with the clipboard and then heading over to take a seat.

"Your 4:00 is here, Ma'am," the secretary said into a speaker.

"Thank you," came a deep alto voice over some static.

The secretary glanced up. "She'll be right out."

"Thanks," Danny said again, then went back to frowning over the paper. It asked for his name. That was easy. It went downhill from there. Age? Should he say? Being a minor might benefit him in the future, as it could help to get the general populace on his side, but it would definitely have his drawbacks. He decided to put down 14 with a question mark by it. It asked for an immigration or social security number. He left that blank. It asked for a phone number... and he couldn't really give that out either. The only phone he owned belonged to Daniel Fenton. Could they track phones right now? He decided he couldn't take that chance and left that space blank as well. No e-mail. No other way to contact him... sheesh. Could he get a burner phone? He finally put down Jazz's e-mail. And tentatively, her phone number too, with the note to the side that it wasn't actually his phone.

If they asked, he'd just say she was his therapist. Amateur as she may be...

Maybe he hadn't quite thought this through like he—

"Mr. Phantom?" a voice from the hallway that led out of the reception room had him looking up. He saw a woman with obvious Asian heritage standing in the entrance and looking at him. She wore a deep red business jacket and matching skirt and otherwise looked every inch the experienced lawyer she claimed to be in her advertisement (it was surprising how many businesses _didn't_ have a web page these days – a lot did, but just as many didn't and Danny found it a little unnerving).

"My name is Melina Tang," she held out her hand and walked towards him.

"Uh, yeah. Hi," he said as he rose out of his chair. When in ghost form, it was more natural to float, which meant it took some thought to stay on the ground. He blamed what happened next on his nervousness, as he just kind of floated off of the chair.

The secretary actually shrieked and the woman backed away several steps, her eyes wide. It took Danny a moment to realize what was wrong. He immediately dropped to the ground.

"Oh, um... sorry. I didn't mean to scare you! I... um..."

"What are you?!" the secretary asked loudly.

Danny couldn't help but flinch a little, and his 14-year-old brain told him to curl away from the scrutiny, even as his 29-year-old memories told him to just act as calm and confident as he could. After some thought, he decided to go with his 14-year-old instincts for now. It would make him seem less threatening, after all. The last thing he wanted to do was make them think he would hurt them on purpose.

_One hurdle at a time, Fenton_, he told himself.

"Um... I'm a ghost."

Blank stares.

"You're a what?" the woman asked.

"Well, I'm.. a manifestation of ectoplasmic energy in post-human consciousness."

"Post-human..." the woman echoed.

Danny rubbed the back of his head. "Well... yeah. I... um... died?"

The man behind the counter balked, but again neither of the adults in the room really seemed to know what to say.

So the half-ghost decided to head off some initial fears. "I don't want to hurt you or scare you or... or anything like that. I promise! I... well, as you can imagine, the dead don't seem to have a lot of rights in the human world. I didn't know who else to go to, and since I'm technically coming into this world from another world... I thought... maybe immigration?"

"I... see," the woman said. Her nearly olive skin had gone rather pale, but she didn't look like she was about to bolt for the door, so Danny decided to count it as a win.

"P-perhaps we could discuss more in my office," she finally said before turning and walking down the short hallway there.

"Malina, are you sure?" the secretary asked.

In front of him, the woman stopped and glanced over her shoulder. "I'm sure, Ademar."

Danny spoke up timidly. "Um... if it makes you feel better, you can leave the door open. I don't mind."

"Unfortunately, I really can't. That would be unprofessional at best and illegal at worst."

"Like I said, ghosts don't have rights. And if it makes either one of you feel safer..."

"Malina," the secretary – Ademar, apparently – practically begged.

The woman sighed. "Very well. I'll make an exception, this once."

With that, she turned and walked to the office. Danny followed along behind her, and once they got inside, she gestured for him to sit down in front of the desk, while she sat down behind it.

"Alright Mr... Phantom. What can we do for you?"

"Well, I'd like to take up residence in this world... but there isn't really a precedence for ghosts to do so. At least not legally... seeing as the government hasn't even acknowledged that we exist at this point. Well, not publicly."

"How old are you?" she asked suddenly.

Danny bit his lip. "Um... as a ghost or before I died?"

She stared at him for several seconds before she said, "Both."

"I was... um, 14 when I died. I have almost 30 years of memories due to how I died, but the ectoplasmic stability of a ghost less than a year old. So... either one of those ages."

More silence. "May I ask how you died?"

Danny winced a little bit. "Well, I don't mind personally, but I wouldn't ask other ghosts if I were you. It's... often quite a testy subject."

She raised an eyebrow. "I can imagine."

"I... was electrocuted."

"How does that give you 30 years of memories?"

Danny sighed. "Well, that's a bigger issue that I'd... rather not go into unless you know you can help me."

The woman rubbed her forehead before leaning forward and folding her hands together on her desk. "I'll be frank with you, Mr. Phantom. I could get you started on some of the paperwork necessary for integration into the US system, but I don't know how well it will go over at all. I'm not even sure anyone will believe me."

"Most likely not," Danny said, dejectedly.

Ms. Tang took the clipboard from him and glanced over it, frowning. "Do you have a permanent residence?"

"Well, technically I'm claiming all of Amity Park as my haunt—"

"Your haunt?"

Yeah, he'd seen that one coming.

"Well, you see, the Ghost Zone – that's where I come from technically – has its own council that acts as a bit of a government. It's... not the best organized or functional government and they keep to themselves more often than not, leaving most ghosts to exist by themselves. We can be... kind of territorial."

He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, before moving on hurriedly.

"In any case, every ghost can make what is called a lair – a sort of a pocket dimension where their will and subconscious dictate what happens. It's a safe place for that ghost – a retreat where they supposedly live – er... after-live. I've never really created one – never had the need to – and so I don't have one. I'd like to claim Amity Park as my lair, but because it's in the human world and it wasn't actually created by me, it may or may not happen. However, I can claim it as a haunt, which is basically a ghost's area on Earth. They defend it from other ghosts and otherwise protect it as they see fit. If another ghost moves into that area and the ghost can't defend it, for whatever reason, but they've already claimed it, they can ask for help from the council. They can also have ghosts punished by the council if they break the defending ghost's rules."

The incredulous expression on the woman's face would have been amusing in almost any other circumstance. Now he just hoped he wasn't overwhelming her.

"Ghosts... have their own government?"

"Well, yeah. Why wouldn't we?"

The woman took a deep breath. "That... could make this both easier and harder. So, you're saying all of Amity Park is your current permanent address."

Danny smiled at her. It seemed she'd followed along pretty well then. "Yup."

"Alright, why do you want to live in... well, the world, I guess. Not just America... Why not just stay in the Ghost Zone, as you called it?"

He'd been prepared for this one. "Ghosts... are similar to humans, yes, but they aren't human. They tend to have different drives – reasons for staying and not passing on. In modern day, they're called obsessions. Every ghost has one, and some have multiple. They're our reason for existing at all. Fulfilling an obsession can help a ghost move on or help them evolve, depending on the obsession and how it's fulfilled. And that's... only scratching the surface. It... can get complicated."

"I'm sure," the lawyer said with a wave of her hand, indicating he should continue.

"In any case, some obsessions can't be fulfilled in the Ghost Zone... and honestly, there are few things I can think of that would be worse for a ghost than to linger in an unfulfilled or unfulfillable obsession. It's... kind of like starving to death, but slower, and more painful. If a ghost loses their obsession all at once, it can drive them insane. But if they lose it little by little or never even have the chance to fulfill it..." he shook his head. "I'm not sure I can describe the kind of madness that can lead to."

"And I'm assuming your obsession deals with the human world."

"Well, yeah. I'm... um, my obsession deals with protection. And I've kind of already grown attached to Amity Park."

A couple of seconds of silence. Then, "What if a ghost's obsession deals with hurting humans? I'm guessing there's a reason ghosts are known to scare."

"Actually, it's a misconception and a huge misunderstanding," Danny argued. "Most ghosts, like most humans, don't _mean_ to scare people. A vast majority don't even _interact _with people. They're just an unknown that can do things humans don't understand. What humans don't understand, I've noticed, they fear. That's... one reason I want to change all of this, so that we can get more understanding and less fear."

"But some ghosts do mean to harm people."

Danny nodded, a little reluctantly. "Just like some humans mean to harm people. I'm... looking for a particular ghost right now who poses as a therapist. She... works on a kid's depression until they're suicidal and feeds on the misery they feel. But that's also why I want to be here – to stop things like that from happening!"

Ms. Tang rubbed the bridge between her nose. "I'm going to be honest with you, Daniel. I may know where to start, but I have, at best, a vague idea as to where to go from there. This is so far out of my league it isn't remotely funny. If you want the legal right to live in the USA, we're going to have to change _laws_, and not just the ideas but some basic _wording_ of principles this entire country was founded on. This would have to be a movement nigh unto women's rights, or minority rights, with potentially less success because people have good reason to be wary of ghosts."

Danny wanted to sigh. He appreciated her candor, but he couldn't say he was surprised at her answer. At least he'd tried. It looked like he'd have to move on.

"That being said," Ms. Tang cut off Danny's train of thought before it could really go anywhere else, "I personally think you should fight for your rights, and I'd love to see you win some court cases. From what you've described, ghosts are simply another race of people – far more of an actual 'race' than the current urban definition of the term in any case. I'm just not sure you know how involved this will be."

There, she was wrong. He knew. He _so_ knew.

"Well, I have a list of things that will need to be accomplished," the ghost boy said, swinging the backpack he'd been carrying the whole time around and unzipping it. He brought out a notebook from between textbooks (the lawyer gave those an interested look, but didn't say anything) before dropping it by the chair and laying the notebook down on the desk.

He opened it and flipped through a couple of used pages before settling on one, filled to the brim with notes.

"First, we'd have to prove that some ghosts are not just sentient, but sapient. We're probably talking multiple psychology sessions with multiple ghosts and doctors to prove sentience, let alone sapience. We'd have to set up verified protection for both the ghosts and the humans before they will be believed, but that will be the basis for more or less everything I've been planning for. That will take time, energy and money. And that doesn't even count the physical studies, whether ghosts are alive and whether that even matters...

"Once we prove ghosts can be sentient, we move onto phase two – establishing a process for ghosts to follow to become a citizen. Simultaneously, I'd really like to work on phase three – establishing the Ghost Zone as a sovereign entity. Trust me, most humans wouldn't last five minutes in there. I don't even want anyone to think it's possible to try and conquer or settle there. It's built for the powers and durability of a ghost... and ghosts can be _extremely_ durable.

"There are plenty of things we'd have to worry about in and above that. Like, if a ghost breaks the law, are they charged here or in the Ghost Zone? What will be considered too far/too scary? What powers would be accepted and which ones wouldn't? How would we police that, etc. And that doesn't even begin to get into some of the culture clashes we'll have to try and prevent. The Ghost Zone has hundreds if not thousands of different cultures right now.

"All in all, I think that's just hitting on the obvious 'big' things. But I... I want this town to know who I am, if only so they know who to go to if a ghost attacks. I need to be able to answer questions and explain my side of the story."

Ms. Tang raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Public figures always need to be able to explain their actions... and if things keep going as they have been, I'm pretty sure I'll be a public figure. I mean, I'm trying to keep everything on the DL, but..."

"What do you mean by 'everything'?"

Danny repressed a sigh. "Ghosts have been popping up lately... tangible ghosts that the average person can see. Usually it takes years for a ghost to even begin to directly interact with the real world without possessing an object. That's... changed recently."

"Tangible ghosts," she repeated, looking him up and down as if to say, 'No kidding.' "Any idea why?"

The half-ghost refused to let himself shuffle nervously and looked her directly in the eye. "I have some suspicions..." he didn't really want to out his parents. Using ectoplasm as a sustainable energy source had begun to revolutionize power production and consumption in the future. Shutting it down now could potentially hurt the world in the long run. He couldn't let that happen, not in good conscience.

"And they are?"

"I don't want to point fingers, right now. The point is, I'm not the only ghost here. Other ghosts have shown up and will likely still show up. The quieter ghosts, once they find out that I've claimed the area as a haunt, will likely follow along and keep their heads down. Those are the kinds of ghosts I'd like to start this process for. But it's the louder, more obvious ghosts that I'm worried about – the ones that I'll have to enforce my rules on."

The woman raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly are your rules?"

Danny blinked. "Oh, well, just the basics really. I mean, don't hurt or abuse humans or another ghost, don't destroy property needlessly, don't kill, no mind-control, etc. I tend to take each ghost on a case-by-case basis after that."

"So, there are ghosts with actual obsessions that are potentially or blatantly detrimental to humans."

"Well, yes," Danny admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "And that's where things get muddy. My obsession is to protect people – that tends to apply to anyone who can't stand up for themselves, be they ghost or human. But that's where I'd like to get psychologists in on it. If we can start to understand ghost psychology, I honestly think there are ways to help a ghost either change their obsession, or how they go about it. Even with destructive ones we could probably set up some sort of simulation where they can fulfill their obsession without actively or actually hurting anyone.

"But that's in the future. For now... well, I guess I am being a little self serving. I just don't want to end up on an examination table being slowly dissected alive. Well... after-alive, I guess. If I don't have any rights, then what's to stop that from happening...?"

The lawyer looked horrified and aghast. "Who would do that?"

Danny let himself sigh this time. "Well, most ghost-hunters today don't think ghosts can feel. To be fair, a lot of lesser ghosts can't. It's because we have an entirely different physical makeup – ghosts don't start out with cells. We're usually 'born' as just a random blob of ectoplasm. As we mature, we tend to develop an equivalent to cells and systems that kept us alive as a human. I mean, I can see where people come by the idea that ghosts can't feel pain... but it just isn't true for more advanced forms."

"Ghost hunters would dissect a living creature?"

"Well, we're _not _living, technically. Not by current definitions. Some ghosts were never even alive as they're the collection of an ideal or an imprint of a traumatizing or reoccurring event. That... is reason enough, apparently, to dissect what may otherwise be considered a sentient creature."

"You're interacting with me right now."

Danny smiled a little. "Exactly."

Ms. Tang rubbed at her mouth, leaving her hand there as she thought. She stayed that way for several seconds before she asked him something he'd been dreading.

"Let's say I take this on. How would you plan on paying for it?"

Danny looked down. "I'll get a job."

"How? If you don't have a birth certificate..."

"I'll fundraise? Or once we get everything changed, I can get legal money?"

"That's an awfully big risk for me."

The half-ghost nodded and looked down. "I know... but I had to try."

More silence for several seconds before Ms. Tang began to rummage around in one of her drawers.

"Excuse me for a moment, Mr. Phantom," she said. "I'm afraid I'll have to break decorum again."

Danny watched her silently and raised an eyebrow in response to her statement.

The woman seemed to find what she was looking for, because she withdrew a business card and closed the drawer. Then she reached over to her phone and picked it up. After several seconds, she smiled.

"Ah, Mary. It's been a while." A pause, and Danny could hear another voice speaking, even if it was too muffled for even his enhanced hearing to pick up more than a few words. He got 'good', 'call' and 'why' before the woman on the other line paused for a response.

"Well, I've got a... rather interesting case here. Quite unusual, potentially high-profile and unlike anything else you've _ever_ seen, I can guarantee."

"_Oh?"_ Danny heard the other woman ask. Then Danny heard something along the lines of 'royalty', 'noble', 'drug lord' (at least he thought the last word was 'lord') and 'president'. So maybe she was trying to guess what kind of a potentially high-profile case it could be.

Ms. Tang snorted. "None of the above. I don't think there's a way you can guess this one, Mary."

A pause from the other end. Then she seemed to ask something Danny just couldn't make out. Too muffled.

"I know we tend to take on differing cases, but you'll want to hear about this one. An entire group of beings are being labeled as less than human – less than sentient even."

The quiet that followed was definitely shocked. Then Danny caught the words, 'blatant discrimination.' He tried to suppress a sardonic snort, but wasn't sure how successful he'd been as the lawyer glanced his way and raised an eyebrow in question. Danny didn't think he should really distract her while she was on the phone and thus, smiled sheepishly.

He didn't know why, but her expression just seemed to get more calculating.

He definitely heard the next line spoken by the other woman. "Why did you say 'beings'?"

Ms. Tang stared straight at Danny. "Well, that's a little hard to explain. It will make more sense when you meet the client... if you want to, that is."

She said something that could have been 'intriguing' or 'interesting' and a couple of other words.

"Excellent. Can you meet with him tomorrow? What time?" Another pause as the other woman read off a couple of things.

The lawyer pulled the phone end away from her mouth and looked over at Danny. "11 am or 3 pm?"

Danny frowned. He didn't dare miss more school at this point, and the later time was getting a little too close to his school release time for comfort... Especially if he got unlucky and received a detention.

"What about 3:30?"

Ms. Tang repeated the question into the phone. After a couple of moments of muffled talking, she glanced at him. "You'll have to be pretty quick. She has something at four."

The half-ghost sighed. "Have her put me down for three and I'll be there as soon as I can." Although he still wasn't a hundred percent sure what was going on, he figured he'd roll with the punches. That was how he tended to deal with things like this anyway.

She echoed him and finalized everything, then said it was good to hear from the woman on the other side, bid her goodbye and hung up. Then she turned to Danny.

"Well, you've interested her. You keep that interest up, and she may be able to take care of most of the work – and the money. That woman is a genius in getting funds and sponsors. I'd say I don't know how she does it, but it probably has to do with the fact that she has a lot of high-profile clients. Politicians, CEOs of small companies, etc. She also volunteers to do civil rights movements every now and then. I think this qualifies."

She stood and Danny did the same, following her lead. The lawyer hesitantly reached out to shake his hand, and he slowly took it and shook it firmly.

"Huh," she said, pulling her hand back and looking at it, and then him again. "Well, alright then. Thank you so much for coming in, today, Mr. Phantom. Don't forget to pay for the consult, but I am sorry I couldn't be of more help."

Danny reached into his backpack and pulled out some money before setting it on her desk. She just stared at it.

"Where did you get this?"

"A friend gave it to me," he replied, feeling sheepish again.

"Right. Let me just get you a receipt."

She walked past him and out the door for a couple of seconds before returning with some change and a little slip of paper.

"Thanks," Danny said as he took it from her. "You've helped more than you know. Do you mind if I just fly out of here?" He was supposed to be home soon and it would be faster.

Ms. Tang just blinked. "Um... sure?"

Danny grinned. "Thanks. I owe you one."

He jumped into the air and phased through the roof, leaving a lawyer with an open mouth and bugging eyes behind him.

xXx

The next day, Danny told Sam and Tucker about the lawyer and his general plans when it came to hopefully getting a publicist as well.

"Dude, do you think you'll get that popular?" Tucker asked from his spot on the bleachers by the football field, where the trio had decided to take their lunches. The boy sounded more than a little skeptical. "I mean, it took you turning into a ghost for me to believe in them. I doubt everyone else will just because of a few sightings."

Danny had to admit, Tucker had a point. The public had only begun to believe in ghosts in his previous timeline because of Desiree and Walker. Very few people actually remembered Ember being a ghost (ironic if he did say so himself) and everything else had been more or less explained away. Even the giant, green dog from the cafeteria. It was really after Walker and his ghost invasion that people began to openly acknowledge ghosts' existence. And he was going to actively try and stop that event from happening. There had been too many people hurt and far too many potential casualties from that incident for his obsession to allow anything else. True, the physical issues had all been minor or rebuildable, but the mental repercussions had been... longer lasting, and mostly negative.

He knew Amity Park would have to admit that ghosts existed at one point or another... especially if his future plans came to fruition. However, he hoped to ease them into it little-by-little. That was always the best way to change, right? Okay, maybe not always... but he did think it would be the best in this instance.

"I dunno, Tuck," he finally responded. "But I'd rather be safe than sorry in this case. I mean, what if someone sees me in a ghost fight and they get a picture or something? Then everyone sees this 'ghost boy' floating around doing who knows what, and if I don't have _something_ set up, they might give me some terrible name, like 'Inviso-Bill'?"

The other two cringed.

"Alright, dude, you've made your point."

"Why didn't you tell us you were looking for a lawyer?" Sam asked. "My family has a pretty good one."

Danny blinked. "I... well, I wouldn't want to take advantage of you like that. Or your parents. They already don't like me."

Sam rolled her eyes. "They've met you what, like five times?"

He shrugged. "It's more than enough for them, I guess. Besides, I don't know if I could afford your family's lawyer."

"You can't really afford any lawyer."

"Point." He had to concede.

Instead of her usual triumphant expression, Sam looked away and shuffled nervously. "Um... how did you know... about my family?"

Danny blinked, then his expression flattened. "I was at your house. And, like I said, I've met your parents."

"So have I," Tucker pointed out with a shudder. "But what's up with your family? Besides them being terrifying."

Danny and Sam stared blankly at him.

"What?" he asked.

"You were at my house too," Sam said, incredulous.

"Yeah, and I was worried about the ghost that Danny was taking to the dance and then your parents said they'd ruin my family so I was a _little_ distracted and... wait..."

Danny raised an eyebrow pointedly. The Mansons wore their wealth rather openly. Admittedly, it had just never really clicked for him in the previous timeline because of how Sam acted and Tucker had been on the same page.

The techno geek's eyes widened. "What was I supposed to notice?" Although the half-ghost was pretty sure that his friend had begun to put it all together. He would have had to consciously go into the 'nice' side of town to get to Sam's address... probably one reason why Sam had never invited them over before.

Sam and Danny exchanged glances before Sam sighed. "My family's kinda loaded. My grandfather invented that machine that swirls cellophane around toothpicks."

The techno-geek's eyes widened. "Wait, you're the cellophane-toothpick-swirling-heiress? How come I never knew this?"

"Ugh," Sam groaned and put her head in her hands. Then she glared up at her friend. "Because I don't want fake friends that only money can buy. That's what you attract when you flaunt what our society equates as 'status'."

Danny could almost see Tucker's brain stutter into 'BSOD' mode, then reboot.

"Exactly how rich are you?" he asked tentatively.

Sam scowled. "Rich enough."

"Could you buy another car?"

The dark-haired girl glared over at her friend. "Yup."

"A sport's car?"

"Yup."

"An RV?"

Sam sighed, picked up her garbage and walked back towards the school. "Yup."

"Um... a hang glider?"

"Yup."

Amused, Danny picked up his own mess and went to follow his other two friends as Tucker continued to question. "What about the best phone on the market?"

"Yup."

"No way. What about that new laptop that just came out?"

"Yup."

"What about—"

This is going to be a long walk, isn't it?" Sam turned to Danny, cutting Tucker off.

"Yup," Danny said with a grin. She shot him a dirty look.

"Come on, just a couple of questions," Tucker promised before he continued without waiting for an answer. "What about a monster truck?"

Sam groaned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: BSOD = Blue Screen of Death, ie your computer (or in this case, brain) froze and you need to take a moment to 'restart' it. 
> 
> Sorry this is a bit late. Was doing some traveling and got back home dead tired. I tried to finish it anyway, but when the computer screen starts swimming in front of you... so yeah. 
> 
> Thanks again to LittleSnowyRascal9842. :D I appreciate your help. 


	14. Dash and Mary

"Hey, Fentonia!" a familiar voice called out and Danny sighed as he looked around at the emptying hall. He'd been doing a decent job at avoiding the bully, but it looked like he and Tucker had run out of luck.

Dash had either gotten really lucky, or actually planned this well because they'd just turned down a rather long hall and the jocks were blocking the way behind them. They weren't close enough to another hall to run, but if he could cause a distraction then maybe Tucker could make it...

He glanced around and had to appreciate the good planning once again. No cameras, so this couldn't get caught on tape. Of course, that also meant that he could use his ghost powers a bit more, but...

Then, a thought occurred to him. He had his camera on him. If he could record this, he'd have solid proof of the bullying that was otherwise very much tolerated at the school. And wasn't that why he'd gotten it to begin with? To gather proof of his innocence? Quickly, he rummaged through his backpack as Dash approached, followed by his team of letter jackets. Huh, all that red and white was a little intimidating. More points to them. Now if only they could channel that towards doing _good_...

Beside him, he heard Tucker gulp. Sam wasn't there, having had some appointment her mother said she couldn't miss right after school. Danny suspected a shopping trip of some sort, judging by how close-mouthed his best friend had been. That left Danny and Tucker alone in the hallway and the other kids had either not seen the potential altercation or had taken one look and made themselves scarce. He couldn't really blame them. Having Dash's attention sucked, even if he had little doubt that he could really take him in a fight, even without his ghost powers.

"You've been avoiding me for a while now," the blond said as Danny chucked his backpack to Tucker, who fumbled, but managed to catch it, even if he looked a little confused. The half-ghost turned just in time to see the bully thrust his face close to Danny's, expression menacing as he pointed at the smaller boy's chest. "You should know, when you avoid us, you just rack up the payment!"

Danny shrugged. "Just a sec." He held up the camera so that he captured both himself and Dash, then hit record. "Hi! This is Danny Fenton and Dash Baxter – my bully. Well, one of them."

"What? Give me that!" Dash growled, lunging for the camera. Danny ducked and twirled out of the way.

"Sorry for the movement," he ducked one of Dash's swings. "It might make you guys sick," another duck, "but there isn't much," a twirl to the side, "I can do about it." He managed to get several steps back, focusing his camera on an increasingly angry jock.

"Hold still, Fenturd!"

Danny scoffed. "Yes, that's the best he can do." Dash shot towards him again, and fortunately, Danny saw it coming. The boy telegraphed his movements so badly it was hard to _not_ see it. It put into perspective just how bad he'd been at reading things himself the first time around.

"I should," duck, "probably explain," a step back and a jump, "what I'm doing." After all, not everyone would simply be able to dodge like this, and he needed to try and keep his cover. He pointed the camera towards Dash's shoulder and neck. "See how his body moves for a wind-up? It's a pretty common movement." He simply knocked the fist to one side, sending Dash stumbling in that direction. "He's going for power, not speed or subtlety, despite the fact that he has the mass to hit pretty powerfully without telling us exactly what he's going to do next."

"SHUT UP, YOU FREAK!" Dash screamed, throwing himself at the other boy. He really made dodging too easy. Danny raised his eyebrow as he stepped aside at the last second, then watched the other boy sail by. He double checked that his camera was still recording it all, just to make sure. Yup, the recording icon blinked back at him.

"See, it's not that difficult to dodge when one keeps a cool head. He's throwing his whole weight behind an attack like that. It's admirable conviction, but lacks forethought. He's not even bothering to try and hit me any other way but directly. Oh, look, it'll be a right punch." Another duck. "I ducked down and under his fist and came up on the outside of his guard. And now he's going for a left cross," he said as he twisted out of the way. "Again, to anyone watching this, you can duck down under the fist or to the side and come out on the back end of his guard. Honestly, it would be really easy to kick in his knees, or punch him in the back or the neck, but I won't, just to _prove _I'm not giving into violence." He hoped his sarcasm wasn't showing too badly.

The next time Dash went for him, he reached out to grab, and Danny rolled into a back somersault.

"Oh, now that was better. Because he was trying for speed," another duck, "he made it more difficult to predict. Nice job, Dash."

The blond screamed in rage and frustration.

"Hmm. Not quite the answer I was expecting. But even though it was better, he's so used to brawling that even his grabs are predictable."

"_Shut up, Fencrap!_" Danny raised an eyebrow at the new term. "You're just making this worse for yourself!"

Danny cocked his head to one side and asked, curiously, "Why?"

"Because now I'm gonna _destroy you_!"

"No," the dark-haired boy clarified, shaking his head. "I mean, why are you doing this? Why me? What did I ever do to you?"

"You showed up and made me stare at your ugly mug for the day!"

Danny frowned. "There's no other reason?"

"Oh, yeah, and you're a freak with creepy parents!"

"And why does that merit you coming after and trying to hurt me?"

"None of your beeswax!"

Danny's frown deepened. "You're trying to beat me up."

"Danny!"

Tucker's warning almost came too late. It would have been the end of it, had he not been half ghost. He threw his senses outward and felt the two boys coming up behind him, probably on Dash's orders, or maybe they acted on their own just to help their leader. Danny threw himself forward, turning his arms intangible as he tucked into a somersault.

"Huh?" One of the boys yelled, looking at their hand. Then, just like Danny thought they would, they grit their teeth at him angrily, likely dismissing his arms phasing through their fingers.

This was getting a little too close for comfort.

He glanced over at Tucker, then very obviously moved his eyes down the hall before focusing back on his friend. The other boy got it and began to sneak away as Danny ducked a couple of other attacks, mainly using the bullies' grasping and charging to take out the others. Most of the boys had gotten into it at this stage, making the grasping and struggling more of a mindless mob than anything. Danny threw himself beneath some of their legs and then made a break for the outside, prying himself away just as they realized he wasn't in their dogpile anymore.

"Run!" Danny yelped to Tucker, and the two booked it down the hall. They turned a corner and Danny reached out to grab his friend.

"Wha—" Tucker started, but Danny put a finger to his lips, then turned them invisible and intangible. A couple of seconds later, the wave of red and white jacketed boys turned the corner, running right through them.

"You can't run forever, Fenton!" Dash yelled from beside them.

Danny raised an eyebrow dryly. "Really?" he asked. No one heard him in the stampeding mass running past (and through) them.

xXx

He left Tucker about half-way to the other boy's house. It was already just after three o'clock, and Danny had to get to his appointment. Tucker, still seeming a little dazed after their encounter with the school bully, said he understood and they parted ways. It was particularly frustrating to really push himself and know he wasn't going nearly fast enough. It took him about seven minutes to get downtown instead of the usual three that it did in the future. It took him an additional five minutes to find the right building, floor and office, at which point he phased right through the wall invisibly. Good thing, too. He was in an office where a man sat, doing some work at the desk off to Danny's right, so he'd avoided scaring someone, it looked like.

So Danny flew through the halls to the waiting room, then rushed over and opened the door as if he'd just gotten there. He glanced at the clock on the wall. Almost 3:20. Well, it was better than nothing. He walked hurriedly over to the desk where a woman in a button-down shirt sat. She looked up at him as he approached. "I have an appointment," he said.

She raised an eyebrow but otherwise didn't react other than to look up something on her computer.

"Name?" she asked.

"Daniel Phantom."

The lady nodded. "Ms. Roberts will see you now." She pointed down the hall Danny had just invisibly flown out of.

"Right," he said. "Thanks." He took one more look around the room, a slightly larger but otherwise fairly similar waiting room to Ms. Tang's, with accents of red and gold instead of blue and green, before he stalked down the hall.

He found Mary Robert's door fairly quickly. It was open, and Danny peeked inside to see an olive-skinned woman sitting behind a desk, dressed in a soft-pink skirt-suit combination.

"Um, hi?" he said, a little hesitantly.

She paused whatever she was doing and looked over at him. Then she blinked.

"You must be Mr. Phantom, right?"

Danny nodded and walked in when she stood up and leaned forward with her hand outstretched. He made a couple of strides to take her hand and shake it firmly. If she noticed how cool he felt to touch, she didn't let on. Instead, she smiled and gestured for him to have a seat across from her.

"I have to say, Mr. Phantom, I've been looking forward to meeting you."

The half-ghost rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Um, thanks." Seriously, he would never act like this in the future. He wanted to sigh, but didn't. Instead he forced himself to put his hand down and sit up a little straighter.

"So, what had Malina Tang so intrigued?"

"Well..." Danny said slowly. Then he turned invisible for a few seconds, then visible again. "I'm a ghost."

Ms. Roberts just blinked at him for several seconds. "Excuse me?" she asked skeptically.

Danny sighed and floated up from his seat. "I'm a ghost." He went up to the ceiling and put his hand through it. Then he floated back down and picked up a stapler she had in front of her. Then he made it intangible along with his arm and thrust it through her desk.

"Grab it, if you don't believe me," the half-ghost said nonchalantly.

Hesitantly, she reached under the desk and gingerly took hold of the stapler. Danny let it go and backed off while she took the object out and blinked at it. Then she glanced over at a still-floating Danny.

"Alright," she said, "you have my attention."

xXx

So Danny explained his situation. She sat and watched him intently as he explained, going over the fact that he is a sapient being, that other ghosts could be sentient and sapient, that they could be captured, contained, experimented on, dissected, etc. without repercussion, that some ghosts had to live in the human world to fulfill their reason for existing, and that ghosts were now appearing tangibly for some reason, so this would become an issue soon.

When she asked him what drove him to come to the human world, he explained his own obsession, the rules of the Ghost Zone and council when it comes to haunts and a brief history of ghosts, just to give perspective.

Now, it wasn't unusual for ghosts to find the human world intimidating, but ghosts rarely got worried or outright scared by normal humans. This woman was an exception. She hadn't taken her eyes off of him the entire time, and it was seriously creeping him out.

"Alright," she said, "so you want to A," she started counting things off on her fingers, "get to a point where ghosts are acknowledged as existing beings, B. get them counted as sapient and then C. get them the rights sapient beings deserve?"

Danny blinked. "Um, yeah."

"And meanwhile, you have to fulfill your obsession by protecting this town from other ghosts, because you're A. fairly territorial and B. see more or less everyone else as lesser than you."

Wait, what? The half-ghost blinked. "Lesser than me? Where did you get that?"

She raised an eyebrow. "You said you protect people weaker than you."

"Yeah. Weaker. Not lesser. Everybody has a weakness, and everybody starts somewhere. A weak person today who is given the chance to live can get strong tomorrow! And honestly, even strong ghosts and people can need protecting sometimes!" He realized he was breathing heavily and took a moment to calm down. She'd poked his obsession by insulting him and the people under him, but that didn't mean he couldn't control it.

"Ah, but someone who is given the chance to live may also do terrible things. They may become strong, sure, but they could also become weaker – dependent on you and the service you give. Are you willing to be responsible for that too, Mr. Phantom?"

Danny frowned and tried to keep his aura from dropping the temperature of the room. Judging from the goosebumps on her skin, he didn't really succeed. He did manage to look her squarely in the eye without glaring.

"No. I am not responsible for the people I save. Their lives are their own. I'm merely giving them the chance to live it."

"And the people you don't save."

His jaw clenched and he couldn't help but tense up. Even after all these years it wasn't difficult to recall images of his parents and Jazz and Sam and Tucker and the explosion and— NO! He had to calm down. He took another deep breath.

"That's harder, and it's taken me a while, but as long as I did the best I could with what I had at the time, then I shouldn't feel guilty for their deaths."

The woman raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't?" she asked.

Another deep breath. "Yeah, 'shouldn't'. Just because I shouldn't, doesn't mean I won't. Ghosts have emotions just like humans, and those emotions are not always reasonable."

"Hm," the woman said, almost like a half-aborted chuckle or word of agreement. Danny wasn't sure which, and he couldn't sense her feelings due to having to concentrate on keeping his own under control.

"What if, simply by being here, you put this town at risk? What if, by 'protecting' it, you're only putting it in more danger? You said yourself that the circumstances around here have changed. What if the best way to protect this town is to simply go back to where you came from?"

The question hit home more than she would likely ever know. He felt as if he'd been socked in the stomach. By Skulker. Multiple times. It wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't a question he'd wondered that himself more than once. Still, it wasn't like this was the first time he'd met with this question... only the first time he'd met it without any backup. In the future he had his parents and Jazz and Sam and Tucker and eventually the town...

So he took a deep breath and forced himself to think through it. It all led back to his parents' portal. Honestly, with how it was now, it wouldn't be too difficult for a ghost to find natural portals leading to the world given enough time and dedication, and a lot of them would come out here. The separation between Earth and the Ghost Zone was weak, and the weaker it got, the more natural portals would happen.

And, once again, he couldn't throw his parents under the bus. He knew they would make some amazing innovation into clean energy in only a couple of months. Long-term gain for the whole world.

With that in mind, he pushed down the little voice in the back of his head that said she was right and took a deep breath.

"As I said, it's a local phenomenon, and it's a recent development. Amity Park was already a hot-spot for ghost activity, but now it's... well, me going away isn't going to stop the ghosts from coming. Yeah, I might draw a few ghosts in, but if I go to the Ghost Zone, it will only leave the town defenseless, and I can't do that."

"You're sure of this?"

"Yes."

"Do you have any proof?"

Danny sighed. "Only that it's well known by ghosts to be a hot spot and now it's infinitely easier to get here."

She nodded her head, conceding. "I would have to get other ghosts to verify that, but I'm not sure how easy that will be."

"Yeah. And any ghosts I bring would be suspect.

"You can get data from the local ghost hunters of records they have, but those don't tend to hold up in the current climate and they're incredibly biased anyway."

"Oh? What do you mean by 'biased'?"

Danny repressed a snort. "They're convinced that every ghost – no matter who or what they are – is evil."

Ms. Roberts raised an eyebrow. "Do they have proof to support this?"

"No," Danny replied, shaking his head. "Encounters with ghosts tend to be... highly emotionally charged, and honestly there are just as many stories about someone coming from the afterlife to help people as there are stories of poltergeists. The Fentons base their ideas off of the theories of Dr. Brian Hartman. He theorized about the Ghost Zone and where ghosts come from. He also gave ideas on ectoplasm and how to use it to power or influence inventions and their after effects."

A frown had appeared on the lawyer's face. "And how would you know this?"

"I... well, I sort of sneaked into the library and read it one night after I heard about him. From the Fentons, no less. I overheard them when they were looking for me. The book is a very interesting – if technical – book that I don't really understand all of," well, he hadn't at this age, "but the man was brilliant. I'm actually convinced he knew a ghost or was a ghost himself. If he was a ghost, however, he must have really hated himself because he hated ghosts. It's obvious in his writings. He documented two cases where he encountered a ghost, and both of them were very negative experiences. Thus, he concluded that all ghosts are evil, regardless of how they became a ghost.

"All of his theories have support simply because of how true some of them are. He basically wrote the 'Ghost-hunter's Bible'. I'm not gonna lie, some of his ideas are far beyond his time from what I can understand, so I get why people believe him about everything, but no matter how genius someone is, they get things wrong. That's why they're called _theories."_

Ms. Roberts sat there with her hands folded in front of her face for several seconds before she sighed and put them down. "Mr. Phantom. I get where you're coming from, but I'm not completely convinced that ghosts are necessary here. They sound dangerous and I can't exactly condone putting the populace in such danger."

Danny frowned, troubled. "But isn't that why we need to establish laws regarding them – us – now? The Ghost Zone is what it is, but I don't think you really understand obsessions. If a ghost needs to be on Earth to fulfill their obsession, they'll find a way to get here – and believe me, there are ways. It's just that now it will be easier to interact with them.

"Right now we have two options: let things go as they are, which will only inspire more hate and rage and may very well start a war, or nip that all in the bud, set up rules that are as fair as we can be to both sides and try to stop as much damage as we possibly can."

"Why would the situation as it is start a war?" she asked, genuinely curious from what Danny could tell.

He resisted snorting. "Right now I've heard the Fentons threaten, multiple times, that they'll tear me apart molecule by molecule. I've also overheard them discussing how they don't want to completely obliterate ghosts they've come across because they want to at least study the remains. I'm not paraphrasing here. Now, let's say you have a drive that your very being depends on, and there are people standing in your way – dangerous people who would gladly destroy you or study you as they dissect you alive because they don't believe you can feel anything. Suddenly, you and your kind have a lot more access to their world _and_ you happen to have natural powers that they don't. You do the math."

The dark-haired woman nodded at him. "You make a fair point, Mr. Phantom. Alright, I'll consider it. You understand that I have to do some more research into this before I make a decision, correct?" Danny nodded. "Do you have some way I can reach you?"

"Not currently," he said with a sigh. "But I do have a number you can reach who can get me a message."

He gave her Jazz's phone number, thanked her for her time and left, phasing right out of the room. Once outside he sighed, feeling old and tired. He doubted he'd be hearing from her again. And, somehow, he figured that any other lawyer he went to would have similar reactions.

Ah, well. Maybe he could get in with a reporter instead? Until he got a name for himself in any case.

With that thought in mind, trying to allow it to bolster his hope, he flew towards his home, leaving a very thoughtful lawyer behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I'm gonna be honest, this chapter did not turn out as I expected. I figure that female minority lawyers in the early 2000's would probably be very professional and competent (they'd have to be), and so I tried to make this one as competent as possible and while she'd consider it, there hasn't been enough precedence to actually have her take Danny on. So... yeah. Sorry if it drags a bit, but this story is a lot of me just meandering along. LOL
> 
> The next chapters will get back into more series territory. :D
> 
> Thanks again to LittleSnowyRascal9842 for reading through this first! :D She's done a great job at catching mistakes, so thanks!


	15. Walker and the Observants

Danny sighed as he looked through what felt like the hundred-thousandth record. Between Sam's connections and Tucker's computer skills, finding death certificate records of people and censuses past wasn't that difficult. It didn't take them too long into going through the files that they realized they didn't exactly know what they were looking for... and that made things infinitely more difficult, especially seeing as most of the certificates didn't have pictures, descriptions or many other defining factors besides the name and some few details of death.

They'd narrowed their searches of who the Box Ghost could be to a hand full of people who used to work at or died around the docks, but there was really no way to be sure. While Danny and Jazz went through the actual records, Tucker and Sam were working on tracking down the families of the people on each certificate, hoping for some sort of way to get visual confirmation and recognition. It... wasn't going well.

On top of that, going through death certificates was... depressing. Dock workers didn't seem to have the happiest of lives in Amity Park... or maybe it was just because they were going through _death_ records and thus got the very minimal details of some rather sad (and often somewhat horrifying) stories. Despite his age and being half-dead himself, Danny still found it hard to read case after case after case of how these people died. Some of them didn't have family currently alive and so had been forgotten by time. Some of them had just gone missing. Every now and then, he'd come across someone who seemed to have lived a decent life with a family at home that they provided for, but that was definitely not the majority.

Comparatively few of the records hit the age range (18-30), weight and height (which hadn't always been recorded on every certificate) they were going for (5' 3" – 5' 7" and between 170 – 230 lb). Most of those they did come across were even younger and smaller. At this point, he wasn't entirely sure if finding the right record was even _possible_. Maybe if he could talk to the blue specter again, get a name at least? He actually hadn't seen Box Ghost for a while... maybe he'd go and search him out in the Ghost Zone?

Yeah. That was likely going to give him more returns (and far less depression) than... this.

"Hey, Jazz," Danny said with a sigh, "take a break for the night. Text Sam and Tucker and get them to as well. I'm going to look for Box Ghost and see if I can get some more information from him."

"Yeah," his sister agreed, not looking up from what she'd been reading. Was she that tired? Maybe this was a better idea than he'd thought. And he'd been meaning to head into the Ghost Zone for a while. He had some unfinished business there.

"I think I'm also going to run a few other errands while I'm there."

That got her to look up from her desk worriedly. "Are you sure you'll be okay in there by yourself?"

Danny nodded. "Yeah. I mean, the only real enemy I have at this point is Skulker. At least to my knowledge. I'm just going to stop by Walker's prison. If something goes wrong there, I know I can get away from him if I really need to. He doesn't know about the whole 'humans are ghosts in the Ghost Zone' at this point. I may also stop by Clockwork's and say hi."

She bit her lip. "Are you sure? Mom and Dad haven't finished making the radios that filter out ghost noise yet, and you said phones don't work there."

"No, they don't," Danny sighed. "Mom and Dad do have two-way radios we can use, though."

"Only within a certain area..."

"Jazz, I'll be fine. If you don't hear from me in an hour, call Sam and Tuck and you guys can come after me, okay? But I'm part ghost. I know my way around the Ghost Zone."

She still didn't look convinced. "I thought you said the Ghost Zone tended to move and was difficult to map."

He shrugged. "Some areas. Some areas stay the same for centuries." Like Pariah's Keep and the space surrounding it. Of course, that still moved, but more like some kind of invisible whirlpool or orbit more than anything else.

"I'm not comfortable with this, Danny."

It was really bothering her... but he did have to go deliver his list of rules to Walker and the Box Ghost would come back himself if Danny didn't go and look for him to give him updates. He may come back anyway, knowing the Box Ghost.

"Jazz, I'll be fine. I'll even take some ecto-weaponry if it makes you feel better."

She didn't look happy, but she also didn't protest again. Danny decided to take that as a win.

"Don't worry too much, Jazz. I used to do this all the time in the future."

"Yeah, in the future," she muttered.

Danny rolled his eyes fondly. "Thank you for caring, Jazz."

Before she could say anything else, he turned and stalked into his room, grabbed the list of rules for Walker, and then phased down and into the living room. He went to land in the kitchen, but ended up phased right through the floor again. He hadn't meant to do that. So he decided to just go all the way down to the basement and managed to stay floating and invisible.

His parents were gone again... and he couldn't remember if they seemed to be gone more this time around or not. Well, either way, he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Opening the portal, he stood before it, took a deep breath, and dived in.

xXx

He knew about where the Box Ghost's lair was, and thought that would be the best place to look first. If he had issues with Walker, he wanted to get right back to the human world.

Smiling, he took in a deep breath of the ecto-rich environment, even though he didn't really have to breathe. Well, he kind of did, but not as much as if he were in his human body. He just took a moment to revel in how being here in the Ghost Zone felt so... welcoming. Like he was coming home. Well, kind of. It was difficult to explain, but he'd gotten to where he rather liked being in here.

It didn't take him very long to find the Box Ghost's door. It looked like any other door, but he could just somehow _tell_ this was the door he'd been looking for. It was closer than it would be in the future. Huh.

Shrugging, he knocked on said door and waited for a couple of minutes. He was about to knock again when the door swung open to reveal the Box Ghost. The blue specter blinked at him for several seconds in surprise.

"You actually came."

Normal voice! They were definitely making progress!

"Well, yeah," Danny said with a chuckle. "I thought you'd want an update."

The Box Ghost raised one eyebrow and stepped aside, allowing Danny to float into the lair. He'd been here a couple of times before, but always found it interesting. It was very... minimal. Nothing but the floating remnants of whatever got lost in the human world. Danny wondered where all of those things went before the Box Ghost had been around.

"What have you found?" the Box Ghost wailed.

Danny sighed. "Sadly, not much. Finding the records isn't all that difficult. Finding people that match your description... that's more difficult because not all records have it. So, I came to ask if you could remember anything about your life? A name? A face? A place? Anything specific?"

"I told you it would be difficult!" the Box Ghost replied in the same, ridiculous voice.

"Yeah, you did. But that's why I need something else to go on. We can keep looking through the records, but we have to know what we're looking _for_."

The ghost crossed his arms and studied Danny for several seconds before he finally spoke again. "Beasley."

Danny blinked.

The Box Ghost rolled his eyes (actually _rolled_ them... and here Danny hadn't thought the ghost got sarcasm... maybe he had a higher GEV rating than he'd given BG credit for).

"That was my naaame!" he said in his usual voice. Then he went back to a normal tone. "At least, I think it was."

Danny grinned. "That's great! Was that your first name or your last name?"

"It was my last naaame!"

"Awesome! Do you remember how to spell it?"

Another pause and scrutinizing look. "B-e-a-s-l-e-y."

"Great," Danny said, committing it to memory. "That will make this much easier. Did you have a first name?"

"I do not remembeeeer!"

Too bad. "That's fine," he said placatingly. "It just would have been easier. That's all. Is there anything else you can tell me? Anything you're comfortable with?"

"... I... was crushed... by a crate. That's how I died."

Ah, so not only is he looking for a box, but he was also killed by a box. His obsession was starting to make a _lot_ more sense.

"I'm sorry," Danny said softly. "But that will help too. This will make it a lot easier, and I'm sorry I didn't ask for more before." He was usually better than that.

"Are you dead?" the Box Ghost asked.

Danny blinked at the non-sequitur. Then he sighed. "No, not technically. But I did die. I was just kind of revived after I became a ghost. I was electrocuted simultaneously with electricity and ecto-energy." It was a little more complicated than that, but the explanation should give the Box Ghost an idea at least.

It did. He cringed.

They floated there in an awkward silence for several seconds. Then Danny smiled.

"Anyway, I have one more place I have to go. So, I'll keep you updated."

He went to leave when he heard something behind him. Pausing, he turned around.

"What?"

"I said, 'thank you'," the Box Ghost repeated, a little louder. "I... am in your debt."

Danny smiled. "You're welcome." Then he contemplated saying what he thought next, eventually deciding that yes, it would be worth it. "You know, it's a lot easier to take you more seriously when you talk normally. Just saying."

The Box Ghost didn't answer or even turn around.

Danny figured that was his cue to leave.

"Anyway, I'll see you soon. Latter, BG."

With that, he left, shutting the door behind him. Just outside the lair, he paused and looked back at the door. That was definitely not how the Box Ghost usually acted... he hoped he hadn't actually hurt the ghost by treating him like, well, a normal ghost.

Shaking the thought from his head (there wasn't much he could do about it now), he flew off towards Walker's prison.

xXx

No matter what angle he came from, Walker's prison still looked intimidating. Not that he'd let it show, but it was rather impressive. As he approached the structure, he made sure to keep his hands in the air where everyone could see them and floated slowly forward.

"Halt!" one of the guards (Danny could never tell them apart, even now, and wondered if the helmets were specially made to make them all look the same) said, moving so he floated between Danny and the Prison. "State your business!"

"I'm a new ghost and I live on the other side of the permanent portal," he said by way of explanation. "I heard that the warden of this prison likes rules, so I thought I'd bring mine by so he could know what was going on with my haunt. That's all."

The ghosts looked back at his guard companion for a moment before the one further back said: "Wait here."

"Thank you!" Danny said after him. Then he waited in silence with the first guard.

"So," he said after a few moments, "how long have you worked here?"

The guard frowned and didn't answer.

"That long, huh?"

Still no answer. Sheesh. Stiff.

Yeah, Danny realized he probably needed to work on his morbid sense of humor.

And now would probably be the best time to shut up. So he shrugged and waited in silence.

Several minutes later, the guard came back with Walker trailing right behind him.

"What's going on, here?" he asked angrily. To be fair, Walker was always angry.

"Sorry to bother you," Danny said, "but I hear you're a stickler for rules, and I want to play nice with my neighbors. I'm from the haunt on the other side of the permanent portal and I'm claiming it as mine, so the area immediately on this side as well, according to the Ghost Zone council treaty section 27, subsection gamma. And here are the rules I've come up with."

He handed the folded piece of paper over to Walker, who hesitantly took it with a frown. He opened it and began to read through it.

"My rules are subject to change at any time, but I'll hold anyone accountable to the most recent update they know of. Anyone who comes through has to sign with me, or they'll be in violation of the laws," although it would more or less amount to an hour in the thermos and then they'd have to sign it to get out anyway, "and other than that, I think it's pretty straight forward."

Walker raised an eyebrow and looked up at Danny. "So, even if you update your rules, you won't hold ghosts accountable for it if they haven't seen it? Why not?"

Danny shrugged. "Then I could change my rules on a whim and people wouldn't be able to trust anything I say. That creates more chaos than it does order, and tends to drive people into a corner where they're happy to revolt against the rules – or at least the one in charge of enforcing them. I'd like to avoid that.

"Oh, and sorry for bringing that to you on human-world paper. It was all I had available at the time. I figured since I was turning it over to you, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Hmm," Walker said, his skeleton-like face unreadable as he looked down at the paper again.

"Oh, and before I go," Danny said, "what are your policies on visiting the inmates?" He had an option here: he could mention either Wulf or the Box Ghost's box... and honestly, he felt he had a better chance with the former right now. He doubted Walker would be patient enough to answer both questions.

The warden's eyes narrowed as his gaze shot to the half-ghost yet again. "You know someone in here?"

Danny shook his head. "No, but I've heard of someone I'd very much like to meet. His name's Wulf?"

A pause, then, "Visits are against the rules."

"Oh," he slumped a little bit. If he wanted Walker to follow his own rules, then he'd have to go by the Warden's. "Is there any way I can go about getting the rules changed? Any way to petition?"

The white ghost studied Danny for several seconds. "No."

"Oh. Well, if you could tell him that Danny Phantom dropped by and wanted to meet him, I'd appreciate it. If that policy about petitioning ever changes, please let me know. Do you happen to have a written copy of your own rules I can take to look over?"

"No. I own the only copy."

"Pity," Danny said. It would have been nice to get the guy with his own game. Ah, well. He smiled. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Walker."

"Warden Walker," he corrected.

"Warden Walker," Danny repeated cheerfully, holding out his hand. Walker just stared at it for several seconds before slowly reaching out and clasping the appendage, shaking it firmly.

"I'll look over... this," Walker said, holding up the piece of paper. He didn't sound thankful or grateful at all. Still, Danny was walking (floating) out on his own accord under his own power, so he'd take it.

"Have a great day, sir," he said again, waving happily at the warden and his guards before turning and jumping into the air, headed for his portal.

xXx

Walker watched the boy go for several seconds. Part of him couldn't help but respect the kid for being so organized and on-top of things that he'd give Walker a set of his rules as well as a run-down of how they worked. The other part of him did _not_ like the kid. He was different... that half-human everyone was talking about, perhaps? Half-humans were _not_ natural... they went against the natural rules...

The warden's frown deepened.

"Sir," one of his guards asked carefully. "What would you like us to do?"

Walker folded the paper and turned to head back into the prison. "Have the patrol keep an eye out for Danny Phantom and observe him whenever possible. We'll play by his rules... for now."

"Yes, sir!" the guard replied and returned to his post. Walker nodded in satisfaction before returning to the warden's room. He still had a lot of work to do.

xXx

Danny found Clockwork's tower easily. He wasn't sure if that was simply because he had a somewhat decent memory of how the Ghost Zone had moved since he first started exploring it, or if the time ghost _wanted_ him to find it, but figured it didn't really matter much either way. He landed in front of the large gates with the interwoven gears on it and knocked loudly. After a moment, the enormous constructs swung slowly open and Danny walked inside.

He heard two voices discussing something in the distance and frowned. Clockwork had another guest?

Cautiously, he advanced anyway, knowing that if there had been a problem, Clockwork would have found a way to tell him.

"Very well, Clockwork," he heard as he approached the time-ghost's main work room, and froze. He knew that voice. "We thank you for your council."

No answer, but as Danny peeked around the edge of the door, he saw his mentor straightening up from a respectful nod. To two Observants.

Just as he was about to back away, though, Clockwork turned and smiled at him. "Ah, Danny. Welcome."

Swallowing a little, Danny stepped into the room, feeling every inch the 14-year-old he looked. "Um, hi," he said awkwardly.

"Danny, these are the Observants. We were just discussing you."

His worry increased. "You... were?"

"It is good to meet you, young Daniel Phantom," one of the Observants said as he floated forward and held out a hand. Danny just stared at him. The Observants had _never_ been this nice to him.

"This is the correct custom to greet you, is it not?" the Observant asked.

That shook the half-ghost out of his stupor. "Oh, yeah. Um, sorry." He reached forward and shook the other ghost's hand firmly. Then he turned to the second one and did the same.

"We are not entirely happy about the creation of those with one foot in the world of the living, and one foot in the world of the dead," the second one said.

"But Clockwork has shown us the good you plan on doing and evidence of your strength of character," the first explained.

"It is quite impressive," the second added on.

"As we have seen nothing that would contradict him, we are willing to give you the benefit of the doubt," said the first.

Danny's head was spinning a little. The Observants had known about him and his this early on? Had they initially been gunning for him from the get go? What a terrifying thought...

"Oh. Um, thank you," he said, nodding his own head into a small bow. "I won't let you down."

"See that you do not," the first replied with a nod. Then he turned to the second one. "Come."

With that, they both made their way past Danny.

"I hope you understand how fortunate you are to have such a wise and powerful ghost as your ally," the second remarked offhandedly as they floated into the hall and then out of sight.

Danny just blinked over at Clockwork with a grateful smile. "Oh, believe me," he said after them, "I do."

They waited for a couple of minutes for the Observants to leave before Clockwork turned back towards the many round time-windows situated in the room.

"What brings you here?" he asked.

Danny snorted. "Like you don't know."

The time-ghost glanced over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"I just came to say hi, actually," he finally conceded, then looked back to where the Observants had disappeared. "I didn't think I'd run into... Wait! You set that up on purpose!" he accused, unsure as to whether to feel annoyed or amused himself.

"Perhaps. Or perhaps they just happened to come when you were coming."

Danny snorted again, fighting the grin on his face. "You wanted me to meet them."

"No, I wanted _them_ to meet _you_. It is far more difficult to condemn someone you've met."

The half-ghost finally just gave in and grinned widely. "Already looking out for me? Your other self said he was responsible for me. You aren't. So, why?"

"Well, Danny, I usually do have pretty good taste, if I do say so myself. And I'd rather like to have a friend again." His voice faded off a little sadly, and Danny decided that he wouldn't ask right now.

"I know how lonely having powers no one else seems to can be," he commented, his own voice soft. "And what it's like to watch friends and family die." Even if he hadn't had to live with it like Clockwork had apparently had to.

"Indeed," Clockwork replied, switching to his old-man form.

They floated there in silence for several seconds before Danny decided to change the subject.

"I did have one small thing I wanted to ask you," he said. "I'm looking for the Box Ghost's box... his original box, the one that started him on his obsession. You wouldn't happen to know about it, would you?"

Clockwork raised an eyebrow. "This is one of those things that I can't tell you unless you have exhausted all other forms of pursuit."

"Because I'll find it eventually, or because I'll learn something valuable on the way?" Danny asked, folding his arms and staring pointedly.

"I find it interesting that you keep asking, despite knowing what I'll say."

He sighed. "You can't tell me. Yeah, I got it. I just figured I'd ask."

"The worst I can say is 'no'," Clockwork pointed out. Danny nodded and fell silent. After a few moments, the time-ghost spoke again. "Well, I do happen to have some tea ready, if you would like some."

Danny chuckled and shook his head. "Of course, you do. Sure, I'm game."

"Good. Will you have a seat?" the time-ghost asked, gesturing to a table with a teapot and two teacups.

"What kind of tea, if I may ask?" Danny said, sitting down in one of the chairs.

"I hear you're fond of some herbal teas, strictly human as your core is too unstable to handle concentrated sources of external ectoplasm."

The half-ghost raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Where did you hear about my tastes?"

Clockwork changed into his child form as he smiled mischievously at Danny. "From you, of course."

Danny laughed and settled in for a good conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Danny isn't ready to talk to his Clockwork from his previous timeline yet. Give him a bit and we'll get to the duplicate and his world.
> 
> Also, I can see the Observants still not liking Danny, per se, but any actual nastiness they could have held towards him would be gone if Dan's gone. Give it a bit... it might change int he future.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!


	16. Technus and Ghostwriter

None of the death certificates they had set aside were about anyone named Beasley. This was both a relief and a frustration as they didn't have to keep the certificates, but they also hadn't found Box Ghost's human identity. So, they decided to go back to the old drawing board, but as they had more information to work with, they set aside time to do so with far higher spirits.

Danny downloaded his video of him dodging Dash onto the computer and had to stop it just a couple of minutes in. It really made him sick. But, with a little video editing here and there... and while he didn't have a whole lot when it came to video editing, some of the free stuff he found on the desktop weren't half bad. It was kind of surprising, actually. Due to his lack of experience, he had no idea how well any of it would turn out, but he found he rather liked working on it. He would have enjoyed it _more_ if the computer wasn't so old and slow...

Life went on, after that. A couple more ghosts came out of the zone, but Danny was able to catch them fairly easily, and that was that. Of course, that was before he came upstairs one day after escaping his father in the basement to find one Dash Baxter in his kitchen, studying with his sister.

He blinked. Shook his head, turned right back around and went back downstairs. He was not going to deal with Dash, and he'd talk to Jazz about warning him about things like that later. His 14-year-old mind did not take to surprises like that well. Stupid puberty.

It wasn't until his father showed him the Ghost Weasel that he remembered what this had all led to. He wondered if it would still be the same. He also wondered why they needed a ghost containment device when they had a veritable row of Fenton Thermoses (some of which were actually full at this moment, not that his parents had noticed, thank goodness).

"Blast," his father said, as he pried at the junk stuck in the nozzle of the half-vacuum, half-Fenton-Thermos, "I'll got the Fenton Dislodger!"

Danny watched him go, then sighed, walked over to the wall and unplugged it. He was glad this one was still running on electric energy, at least in part. Later on, he would have had to phase his hand through to the actual motor and shut half of his parents' inventions off there. Then, he calmly took the Fenton Thermos out of the nozzle and set it on the counter before walking over to the portal. He studied it for a couple of seconds before reaching up and pushing the button.

He transformed as the door opened and... nothing happened.

Danny frowned. Then he looked over his shoulder. If his father came back to find the lab empty, he'd likely just assume that his son had left while he was gone... although his father could also be in the lab for hours and getting back to this world through this portal might be more difficult...

Still, he wanted to seek a couple more ghosts out and start feeling around for tentative alliances, like the one he'd been planning on trying to make just now. It was a bit of a wake up call that he couldn't just rely on his past information. Not that he hadn't known that already, but it was still a bit jarring. He took another look behind him at the stairwell where his father had vanished, then fished in his pocket. If he concentrated enough, anything he'd had on his person when he'd transformed could be reached in his other form, and so he felt around for... There.

Pulling out his cell phone, he shot Jazz a quick text. He hit the send button just as his father called down that he was returning. Danny extended his arm away from his body, allowing the joint to become mist, and hit the close button, then retracted it quickly as he heard his father clomp down the stairs. The doors closed, leaving Danny in the Ghost Zone with no way to open the portal back again. Usually he could knock a certain way and his parents (currently, only Jazz) would let him in. He frowned. Perhaps he hadn't quite thought this through... He hadn't been that reckless for years now. Was that also part of his developing body and brain? He sighed. Maybe he could go to Clockwork for help? It wasn't like Danny needed an excuse to go and see his friend...

"Child!" a familiar voice called out to him and he turned to see the form of a ghost floating up to him. While the look was something Danny remembered, it took him a minute to really recognize the ghost as Technus hadn't looked like that in... well, fifteen years. "You just came through the unnatural portal! Tell me, are you the half-ghost I have heard so much about?"

Danny blinked. "Um... yes? I think so? I am half-ghost..."

"I am Technus! Master of Technology! And I have come today to have a look at the magnificent portal! Tell me, how does it work?"

More blinking. "Wait... you... just want to look at the portal? That's it?"

Technus turned to look over his shoulder at Danny blankly. "Yes. Why else would I seek you out?"

Danny opened his mouth, then decided not to give Technus ideas (as he had the first time). The guy took them and ran with them... er... flew with them. Very quickly.

It took him a couple of seconds to come up with something else. "To seek out an alliance, perhaps?" he asked hopefully.

Technus just stared at him for several seconds before bursting out laughing. Then he raised his arms over his head, posturing. "I, Technus, Master of Technology, need no alliances!"

"Oh," Danny said, deflating a bit. Then he thought some more. What would he have that Technus would want?

Oh, Jazz was so not going to like this.

"Not even if I could offer you residence in the human world?"

Technus froze as the processed, then he turned and looked suspiciously at Danny. "Why would you offer such a prize?"

Danny scratched the back of his head nervously. "Well, you may not need alliances, but I'm a pretty new ghost, and alliances are something I'm seeking."

"Are you not powerful, as a half-ghost boy?"

"Well, yes, but power isn't everything. I'm sure you, of all ghosts, know that smarts trump brawn and power every time."

Technus rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "True, true."

"Plus, I'd _really_ like some technology that I have ideas for, but not the skill to build. I give you residence in my haunt, you live by the rules and produce the occasional piece of tech I give specs on. Or your closest approximate. I'd ask for a reasonable deadline, and I'm sure we could find a good, abandoned warehouse down by the dock where you could work to your heart's content."

He could tell the other ghost was tempted by the way he leaned forward, still suspicious, but eager.

"Is that all?"

"Well, you'd have to sign a form saying you'd read and understand my rules," Danny quickly amended. Then he dug in his other pocket for the small list he'd started carrying around. He brought out a folded piece of paper and handed it over to the technology ghost. Technus gingerly opened it and then began to read over it.

After a little while, he glanced up at Danny. "Are these the only rules to your haunt?!"

"Well, yes, for now. But if I changed them, I'd have to give you advanced notice. Also, exerting any sort of control over equipment you or I don't own would fall under 'harming humans'. You can only control tech that belongs to you. Only with permission could it be anyone else's, and I'd prefer you didn't let people know you're a ghost, for your safety as well as theirs.

"I know it might seem very restrictive, but I'm pretty sure your, er... obsession," he decided to be a little cautious mentioning it, just to be safe, "has something to do with the modern world, if you're a technology ghost."

"Very observant, child," Technus said, sounding both approving and annoyed. Danny wasn't sure how he pulled both off.

He sighed. "Look, I just want to give you a chance, but I need to make sure I'm not putting anyone else in danger. I'll need your signature and you word, and believe me I will hold you to it."

The other ghost regarded Danny for several seconds. "So, you'll let me live in the human world and do whatever as long as it doesn't hurt any human," he said.

Danny sighed. "Or other ghosts."

Technus raised an eyebrow. "Your obsession lies with protection, doesn't it."

Somehow, hearing it still felt like he was socked in the gut, but he didn't let himself even flinch. He did look away, though. "Maybe."

"Will you tell me how this amazing portal works?!"

Danny thought for a couple of moments, knowing very well that he didn't trust Technus and for good reason. "I don't know everything about it, but what I do know I can tell you," he finally conceded. Danny could likely parse out most of what went into building the portal if he really wanted, but he'd never really had a reason to try and do so. But he'd be willing to offer an olive branch if he could secure another alliance.

"Hmm. I will consider your offer, child!" Technus said. "For now I will study this marvelous contraption!"

"Okay," Danny said, smiling. "I have a couple of things I need to do anyway. Have fun. Just remember, if it opens, there are ghost hunters on the other side of it and they have ways of protecting against and harming ghosts." Better to not mention technology right now.

Technus hummed, although Danny wasn't sure he'd heard him. Still, he decided that retreating might be the best option at the moment.

"Later," he said as he flew away. He glanced over his shoulder after a few seconds of flying, finding that Technus was watching him, considering. Danny wasn't sure exactly what that meant. It could mean that he was wondering just what he could get away with, or it could mean he was seriously considering the offer.

Danny kept flying away. That alliance could have so much potential... but it could have a lot of issues too. Technus was one of his more dangerous enemies in his previous life simply because of the widespread technology on Earth. Letting him loose in Amity Park would be like... well, like Undergrowth let loose in a forest somewhere.

He wondered for a moment how an encounter between Undergrowth and Technus would go... he put his money on Undergrowth, but not because Technus didn't have the resources or power to do his own damage. He just... didn't tend to think on a big-enough scale. If he ever got smart enough to try and infect the internet... Not just a stupid game, but the actual internet... Danny shuddered.

He made a mental note to figure out Technus' root obsession (because while it likely had something to do with technology, he doubted it was really that broad) and keep him invested in fulfilling it.

xXx

Danny had been to this particular door a couple of times in his previous life, but he'd never really gotten along with its occupant. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Actually, the occupant had never really gotten along with _him._ He could certainly hold a grudge. Once Danny had a chance to really sit down and think about it, he'd found it rather sad, because he was sure this ghost would have been a good ally. He was, after all, far more powerful than he let on. The fact that he didn't go after Danny despite the fact that the ghost had never forgiven him actually said a lot about his character.

So, it was with no small amount of anxiety that he lifted a hand and knocked on the door.

Then he waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And had just decided that the ghost wasn't home when the door opened.

"Oh, you're here," Danny said, a little surprised.

"Yes, this is my lair."

"Heh, right," the half ghost replied, then stuck out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Ghostwriter. I'm Danny Phantom."

The other's eyes widened a bit. "The half-ghost?"

Danny blinked. "It's gotten around this far already?"

"I'm not stuck in my lair all the time."

"Oh."

They sat there in silence for a couple of moments before Ghostwriter spoke up, sounding a bit annoyed. "I was in the middle of writing something."

Danny started a little. "Oh, right. Sorry. I... well, I've heard about you, too. Heard you're a pretty decent guy and, well, I'm kind of new and don't know much about the Ghost Zone... I was wondering if you could give me some books on the history of the Ghost Zone? Maybe some laws that I might need to know?" He'd already read most of the books Ghostwriter could give him, but not in this timeline, and he wanted a good reason as to why he knew as much as he did.

And if he could ally with Ghostwriter in the mean time, all the better.

The annoyance on the writing ghost's face vanished, then he seemed to study Danny for an uncomfortably long amount of time.

"Um... I can leave if that isn't okay," he said, cursing his 14-year-old body and brain for the insecurity flooding through him. Why couldn't he over puberty by now? It really was a pain.

Ghostwriter shook his head, as if coming out of a reverie himself. "Far be it for me to discourage ghosts from learning. Especially since you asked politely. Not every ghost seems to understand how far a nicely worded request can get them."

"Yeah, I learned that lesson a while ago." Oh, the irony.

He followed the Ghostwriter up to one of his many shelves and waited patiently as the other ghost began searching them. He pulled out a couple of books and turned to Danny. Before he put the books in the half-ghost's outstretched hands, he narrowed his eyes into a warning glare.

"You take care of my books, or I'll make you regret it, understand? I don't care how powerful you are."

Danny swallowed and nodded. "I believe it."

For some reason Ghostwriter's eyes narrowed even further and he leaned forward.

The half-ghost almost panicked. Ghostwriter was definitely _not_ acting like himself.

"I won't let them get hurt, promise!" Danny said.

Ghostwriter nodded and turned back to the shelves. The half-ghost let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. In his mind, Ghostwriter was almost as powerful as Clockwork as he could quite literally _change reality_... Definitely in the high 80's on the GEV scale. Might even be in the low 90's. Danny had never really been able to decide.

Staring at the back of the ghost's head felt a little awkward, so he looked around the room for a distraction. His eyes fell on Ghostwriter's keyboard floating above a small platform off to one side. Danny took a moment to study it appreciatively. The last time he'd seen this one, he'd blown it to pieces. Apparently that had been part of what had ticked Ghostwriter off in his previous life, as the keyboard had taken him quite a while to manifest, and wasn't an easy construct.

Part of Danny had been sorry for the loss of the complex tool, but part of him still shuddered and wanted to destroy it here and now. It wasn't quite the Ring of Rage or the Reality Gauntlet... but that didn't mean it was dismissable as a threat. It had made Danny and his family (and friends) _talk in rhyme_, for goodness sake.

Still, despite the utter pain it had been, he'd been ultimately grateful to Ghostwriter for his little 'lesson', even if the sheer power the ghost wielded came awfully close to terrifying Danny. He was glad someone like Ghostwriter had gotten that kind of power instead of someone like, say, Walker.

"The story's not done 'till the lesson is learned," he muttered, a small smile coming to the edge of his mouth.

"What was that?"

Danny looked back at Ghostwriter to find him floating right in his face again. He yelped and fell back, not activating his flight on the way down as he was too focused on making sure the books in his hands weren't damaged. In a few seconds, he sat on the floor, clutching the tomes to his chest, and very grateful that they looked just fine. Then he glared up at the ghost.

"Dude, what the—" he stopped. Ghostwriter floated over him with an intense expression, arms crossed.

"Who are you, really?"

Wait, what?

"Huh? I'm Daniel Phantom. Danny Fenton in my human form."

"I know that phrase. I never use it in my normal poetry, but I have used it before. The last time was over a century ago. Certainly long before you were born as a human or a ghost. We still have no actual proof of reincarnation, and even if we did, the process would undoubtedly take far longer than that..."

Danny's eyes widened and he swallowed past the lump in his throat, unsure of what to say.

"So if I eliminate the impossible... Wait... You're one of Clockwork's!"

Could Danny help it if he spluttered? "I'm.. but.. I... you..." Then he paused for a moment and thought about it. "What do you mean 'one of'?"

Ghostwriter snorted. "Every couple of decades he'll find someone he needs to save for the good of the world, usually from themselves." Danny wasn't sure how to respond to that. Part of him felt relieved that he wasn't the only one who had needed Clockwork's help. Another part of him, a part of him that was used to attention, felt a bit disappointed that he wasn't the only one. And still another part was shocked that Ghostwriter, of all people, knew that about the time ghost.

"That also makes you a rather important part of the future," Ghostwriter continued thoughtfully. "Did he send you here?"

Danny blinked. "No. I mean, I'm sure he knows I'm here, it's Clockwork, but..."

"He isn't the one who told you about me?"

"No..."

"So, you really are from the future, then?"

He felt his mouth drop open and he gaped like a fish for far too long.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'. You can't take my books back to the future." He paused for a moment, "Unless my lair gets destroyed somehow and you're doing this to save them."

Danny hurriedly shook his head and floated up off of his backside, landing on his feet. "No, no. I'm not going back to the future."

Ghostwriter's eyebrows rose. "You're not going back to the future? Then... Clockwork really didn't send you?"

"No," Danny replied, sighing. No use denying it now. "My time travel was an accident."

"There are no accidents when it comes to Clockwork," Ghostwriter said dryly.

Danny sighed. "He knew I was coming back in time, but chose not to stop it. That doesn't mean he _caused_ it."

The other ghost rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I see. I'm guessing you and I had an... altercation in the future."

The half-ghost frowned. "What makes you say that?"

Ghostwriter snorted. "Do you know how many people actually respect my powers until they see them in action – or at least have them thoroughly explained?"

"Um... not many?"

"None, as far as I know."

"Oh." Danny's frown deepened. "But... you can change reality."

Ghostwriter smiled a little smugly. "Under certain circumstances. Now, I think you know most of this already, am I right?" He asked, pointing to the books Danny still held.

Why did this ghost keep catching him flat-footed? "Um, yeah. I... actually wanted to borrow these so my sister could read them. I also wanted an excuse as to how I know it."

"I must have really respected you," Ghostwriter said, shaking his head.

Danny snorted. "Not particularly."

The other ghost looked skeptical. "I wouldn't have let you borrow anything if I didn't respect you."

"But..."

"Didn't mean I had to like you. Although I cannot see why I wouldn't. You seem like a pretty decent person."

Danny looked to the side, feeling his cheeks darken. "I'd... prefer not to talk about it."

Ghostwriter scoffed in amusement. "No, I suppose you wouldn't. Now, tell me why you're _really_ here."

He didn't want to say it, feeling like he was far too much at a disadvantage. He swallowed his pride anyway.

"I... was hoping to speak with you about an alliance."

"Hmm," Ghostwriter responded. "I see. I don't often ally with other ghosts. I want to share my knowledge to all who wish to pursue it."

Danny shook his head, "I have no problem with that."

"Even if it were an enemy of yours who came to me?"

That brought him up a little short. After a few moments, though, he responded, determinedly. "If an enemy is coming to you for information about me, then that might be a different story, but when it comes to regular knowledge, no. I have no issue with that. I wouldn't want to get in the way of... well, your obsession."

"You speak of obsessions easily," Ghostwriter said. "Normally it's rather taboo."

"Yeah. I think that we should speak of them more with people and ghosts we trust. How can people help you if you don't tell them anything?"

"Hmm."

Both of them stood in silence for what felt like forever.

"I will consider your proposal. In the meantime," he looked up and yelled out, "Clockwork?!"

To Danny's surprise, the time ghost appeared in the middle of the room. "Ghostwriter. Daniel," he said, nodding to each in greeting.

"Thank you for coming," Ghostwriter said in a polite but firm voice. "Now, would you mind taking your subordinate and my books to his lair safely."

Clockwork raised an eyebrow in amusement. "You will allow your books to leave the realm?"

Ghostwriter froze. "Leave the realm? What do you mean?"

"Oh, I live on the other side of the permanent portal. I thought you knew that," Danny said by way of explanation. He said it carefully, showing he was more than willing to give the tomes back if there was an issue. He really felt the need to do a lot of placating here. Of the ghosts in the room, he was the weakest at the moment, and he knew it. It was an unusual feeling.

Ghostwriter shot them some unreadable looks before taking a deep breath. "You have one week, and if they don't come back, I'm holding you responsible, Clockwork."

That bothered Danny and he found himself speaking up. "No."

The writing ghost turned to him, not pleased. He waited for Danny to explain.

"I may be a new ghost, but I'm old enough as a human and aware enough to deal with my own consequences. Clockwork hasn't made any claim to me in any mentor-ship or other capacity I know of, except as a friend," he smile at the time ghost, then turned back to their host, "so he should not be held responsible for my actions." He held his head up, staring both of the other ghosts down, refusing to back away.

"You would even protect me, Danny?" Clockwork asked, amused.

Danny felt his cheeks heat up again and had to consciously stop himself from looking away in embarrassment. He'd been doing that too much lately.

Before he could answer that, though, a snort from Ghostwriter had them turning to him. He saw their expressions (especially Danny's, apparently) and then doubled over, laughing.

"Alright, I'm beginning to see why you like this kid," he said to the time ghost, still snickering and holding back chuckles. "Very well, then, take the books. Take them out of the realm, even. Just know, I will hold you accountable for any damage."

Danny found himself smiling. "Yes, sir." And if he said it a little more flippantly than he really meant to, Ghostwriter didn't seem to mind.

"Um," Danny turned a little sheepishly to Clockwork. "I... may have accidentally locked myself in the Ghost Zone... could you help me get back?"

Another snort from Ghostwriter, who had gone back to straitening the books on his shelves, had Danny glaring at the back of his head in annoyance. He didn't think it was worth saying anything, though, and turned his gaze back to Clockwork, pleading.

"You know you cannot rely on me every time."

Danny sighed. "Yeah, I know. More than you realize, I know."

"Hmm. I think you truly do. Very well. This once. You really should make a lair and connect it to your world."

The half-ghost felt his lips tighten a little. "I can't risk that someone else might be able to sneak through any back-door I create. It's hard enough to protect Amity with just my parents' portal."

"There are ways to hide and protect your lair," Ghostwriter said, looking a little amused himself, although Danny couldn't for the life of him figure out why.

"Indeed," Clockwork agreed.

The half-ghost opened his mouth to protest, but then closed it again as he thought over their comments. "Wait... would you – either one or both of you – be willing to help me find ways to guard and protect it... if I made one?" Because if anyone could, it would be the ghost of time and a ghost who could affect reality.

"Perhaps," Clockwork replied, vague as ever.

"It would be knowledge you would ask of me. I don't see why not," Ghostwriter replied.

Danny blinked. "Um... okay, I'll... think about it."

He'd never had a lair before. Never really needed one. But if he had his own portal from this world to the real one... was that how Box Ghost kept somehow sneaking past his parents? He'd consistently shown up for years, even when they'd set up some pretty hefty defenses around the portal. Although, why he hadn't shown up as much before the activation... or had he? Huh. Danny hadn't really paid attention to his parent's rambling before that, so he potentially could have.

"I expect those books back next week," Ghostwriter warned again as he floated past them and to his writing desk (Danny wasn't really sure what else to call it).

"Alright. Thanks," the youngest ghost said with a small smile before turning to Clockwork. Before he said anything, though, he paused and turned back to Ghostwriter.

"By the way, I'm helping the Box Ghost find a box he's looking for. It would be something a little unusual, we think... although that's the best I can come up with right now. Have you seen anything?"

The writing ghost raised an eyebrow. "A little vague, isn't it?"

Danny shrugged. "Better than nothing."

Ghostwriter conceded the point with a shrug before he began to rub his chin thoughtfully. "I know of several... interesting boxes littered around the Ghost Zone. I could put a list together for you by the time you bring those back if you'd like."

Danny couldn't help it if his grin felt a bit wider than normal. Ghostwriter from his time wouldn't have offered. As far as Danny was concerned, this wasn't just a step in the right direction, it was a plane-ride.

"I'd really appreciate it. What would you like in return?"

Ghostwriter just waved him off. "I told you, I like sharing knowledge. This will give me something to focus on."

Danny frowned, hesitant. "Are you sure?"

"Most assuredly."

"Okay," the half-ghost conceded, "but if you need anything, you can always ask me." Ghostwriter answered with an acquiescing nod, and Danny turned to his mentor again. "Whenever you're ready."

"Danny," Clockwork said, mock admonishing, "I'm always ready."

With that the two of them vanished from Ghostwriter's lair. The remaining ghost stared at the ares they'd been occupying for a little while before he looked down at the book he'd been writing. He wouldn't give up on that, but... he definitely had a new idea.

Smiling, he put that project aside for now and quickly began outlining this new story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay this is being uploaded unbeta'd because I can't seem to get ahold of my beta reader. :( (If you're reading this and haven't gotten an e-mail from me, hon, please e-mail me back, kk?) So, just a warning.
> 
> Also, I love your comments, guys! Thank you so much, and I read every one of them! I can't always get to answering them, though, so my apologies. I still absolutely love and appreciate ALL of your support! This fanfic has several hundred followers and favs and it just warms my heart, so thank you! :D
> 
> And yes, Ghostwriter figured it out. *evil laugh* I just think he's a little underestimated, is all. :D Anyway, let me know what you think! 


	17. Tiffany and Vlad

"You. Did. WHAT?!" Jazz almost yelled at him and Danny winced.

"Come on, Jazz, I keep telling you, the Ghost Zone isn't so bad."

"You locked yourself _outside of our dimension_, Danny!"

"It isn't the first time."

Jazz, who stood in front of him, folded her arms, unimpressed. He could tell she was restraining herself. "And for what reason, again?"

"Um... books on the Ghost Zone, its history and laws," Danny said, holding them in front of him like a peace offering. He'd come directly to her room after Clockwork had dropped him off.

His sister quirked an eyebrow, trying not to look eager to begin reading and failing rather spectacularly. After a moment, she shook her head, forcing her expression to return to upset.

"Danny, you can't just impulsively do things like that!"

"Well, it was one of the few times I'd be able to meet Technus on fairly neutral turf, but Dad would have freaked out if the portal had been open and his son was missing."

Jazz put a hand to the bridge of her nose as she took several deep breaths. "There are so many things wrong with that statement that I don't know where to start."

"Jazz, it's the Ghost Zone. It's honestly as much a home to me as Amity Park is," he pointed out.

His sister just stared at him, looking sad. "I don't like hearing you talk about how you aren't human. That isn't true."

Danny shook his head. "It is, Jazz. I'm not entirely human anymore, and that's okay. You were the one who helped me reach that conclusion. I'm part ghost now, and that means I'll be different than I was before. I'll have different instincts and different norms. I need to embrace my ghost side just as much as my human side. Ignoring any side of your psyche can be dangerous... and trust me, I can't afford to slip and let something happen."

Her expression looked pained now. "But... you're my brother."

The half-ghost just raised an eyebrow sympathetically, but pointedly. This was a very large, unexpected change in her life too. He couldn't expect her to just accept it all at the drop of a hat. It had taken her a while in his previous life too, and as much as he wanted his far more mature, older sister back, he couldn't just reach into the future and drag her back here with him. He knew he'd have to be just as patient with the Jazz of today as she'd initially been with him.

"Does me being a ghost change that?" he asked.

The red-head sighed and sat next to him on her bed. "No."

"It's just not something you've prepared to deal with," Danny said, knowingly.

Jazz shot him a watery smile. "How is someone supposed to deal with their little brother dying and then coming back as a sort of super hero who isn't entirely human anymore?"

Danny smiled softly. "As best you can. And if anyone can, it's you."

Jazz snorted, half amused, half something Danny couldn't quite read.

"I don't know if I'll ever be comfortable with you just heading off into the Ghost Zone."

"Fair enough, but that is why I sent you a text."

She sighed. "Thank you for that, Danny. I do appreciate it. Just... be careful, okay? You're not the only one who wants to protect the people they care about."

He didn't know if she knew how much that meant to him.

"Thanks, Jazz."

"Always, little brother," she said, putting her arm around his shoulder. His true fourteen-year-old self would have freaked out and gotten out of the uncomfortable situation. Fortunately, he had 30 years worth of memories behind him at this point, and so he firmly told his fourteen-year-old brain to shut up as he leaned against his sister contentedly.

xXx

Danny raced down the halls of his school, dodging the blasts coming at him from the ectopi... again. He didn't remember fighting them again so soon, but apparently something he'd done had caused them to come back to, quite literally, haunt him. He couldn't change into a ghost, right now (too many people watching), so he ran down the hall towards the nearest bathroom.

Actually, what he needed most at this point, was a distraction. He could go into a bathroom, but there was no guarantee it would be empty right now... during lunch... on a Wednesday.

Why hadn't things stuck to the original plan?

He also didn't want to pull out his thermos as doing so would just emphasize the similarities between him and Danny Phantom. So he was stuck, running. Fortunately, the ghosts weren't smart enough to phase through corners and he'd gotten a decent lead. He just had one more junction to maneuver and there would be a restroom.

Right then, he turned the corner and ran almost directly into a trio of girls: Star, Paulina and...

"Valerie!" he said with a big grin, already digging into his pockets and pulling out a prototype his parents had given him a couple of days before. It was merely some finger-less gloves treated with some anti-ecto substance (part of their hope to help him 'escape the ghostly influence obviously on him'). He tossed those at her and she caught them reflexively.

"Punch the next thing that comes around the corner with those! Thanks!" he yelled to her as he ran past.

"Wait... Fenton, what?" he heard her ask. Then a shriek of three voices as he dodged into the bathroom (which was, thankfully, empty after all). He quickly switched forms and flew back into the hall where two of the more popular girls stood, staring at their friend who had her fist, still holding the anti-ecto gloves, held straight out. In front of them, the two ectopi had drifted away, looking dazed. Well, it seemed she had punched them out after all. Sweet.

"Sick," he said through a grin as he flew past them, thermos in hand. He quickly dragged the two ectopi into it and slid the cap on, smiling. The three girls stared at him, open mouthed, and they weren't the only ones.

Of course, that's when Valerie spoke up. "Who are you and what the heck was that?!"

It was kind of strange to hear her use such clean language.

He rubbed the back of his head a bit. "Oh, um, hi. I'm... well, you can call me Phantom. I'm... a ghost?"

Paulina took a step back, Star squeaked and Valerie just blinked at him in shock. The only one that seemed even remotely normal to him was Star. It was also a little strange to see the three of them together, now that he thought about it.

"I'm a friendly ghost, though! I promise! I'm... um... here to protect the school." Yeah, that sounded convincing.

Valerie, Star and Paulina all exchanged glances. Then Valerie spoke up again. "Ghosts don't exist."

At that, Danny couldn't help but smile. "Then you never saw me. Tell the ghost-hunter's boy that I appreciate the distraction." He pointed to Valerie's hand, still extended and still gripping the anti-ecto glove tightly. "Looks like you'd make a decent ghost-hunter yourself. Later."

With that, he went invisible. The girls gasped, and this time, Star fainted. Danny felt a little bad for that, but didn't really know what to do about it as he flew away.

"Alright, guys," he said to the thermos as he became visible above the school, "that's an hour. Next time it will be two, and the time after that three... capiche?"

Unsurprisingly, he didn't get a response.

xXx

Vlad Masters (aka Vlad Plasmius) didn't often get unannounced visitors... mainly because it had gotten around after he'd built his own ghost portal that unannounced guests tended to disappear. So when he heard the alarm that someone had, for all intents and purposes, knocked on his portal door, he was understandably both annoyed and curious, especially seeing as he'd found it difficult to set up a permanent camera on the other side of the portal, so he couldn't see who it was.

Unwilling to take any chances, he paused in his work, shifted to his ghost form and sank through the floor, floating down several stories and ending up in his secret basement lab. Putting on his disapproving scowl, he opened the portal.

On the other side floated a boy. How... anti-climactic.

"What do you want?" he asked, allowing his annoyance to show.

"Oh, you are here! Great!" the boy smiled a huge grin of pure sunshine. Vlad could already practically smell the naivety coming off of the boy. "I'm actually here for a couple of reasons. First, the Box Ghost is looking for a specific box... but he can't remember exactly what was in that box. So, have you happened to come across any unusual boxes?"

Vlad couldn't help it if his expression could have dried up the great lakes. "No."

"Darn it," the boy said. "Eh, I knew it was a long shot. Would you mind keeping an eye out for something unusual but not necessarily ghostly?"

"What else do you want?" Vlad asked, trying to plod the boy along.

"Well, my name's Danny Phantom," the boy said as he held out his hand for Vlad to shake.

That honestly took the older ghost back a bit. "Wait, from Amity Park? The new one who is using his powers for good?"

"Yup, that's me."

"How quaint." He meant it just as derisively as it sounded, and thus was a little surprised when the boy chuckled.

"I thought you might say that," he said. Then his grin returned with just enough of a sharp edge to throw Vlad off. "I was wondering if you'd be up for a game of chess." The boy brought out his other hand from behind his back. On it balanced a round container holding chess pieces and a folded-up board. It was obviously extremely cheap. And yet...

"Why should I want to play you?" the older ghost asked.

"Mainly because appearances are deceiving. I was told you're good... and I want to see exactly _how_ good. Let's just say I don't believe the rumors."

This conversation was getting more and more interesting...

"What rumors?"

"That you have it all," Phantom said nonchalantly. "The brains, the power, the will to use them... that no one can beat you... you know, the usual."

"And you don't believe them?" Vlad asked, unable to hide his amusement.

The boy snorted. "No one's lucky enough to get brawn and the brains to completely use them."

Now that was intriguing. Was the boy baiting him, or did he really believe that? Vlad guessed the former, but that was so at odds with his previous sunny disposition that he simply had to take the bait.

"I suppose I have time for one game."

The sunshine smile was back. "Excellent!"

xXx

The boy was good... but not good enough.

"Checkmate" Vlad said with a smile as he moved his queen into position.

"Yeah," the boy sighed, ruffling his white hair before knocking over his king. "I didn't really see a way out of that one."

"That was an amusing game," the blue-skinned ghost replied, sitting back in his chair smugly.

"Eh, for you perhaps," Phantom muttered.

"Oh, don't be so hard on yourself," Vlad encouraged, not bothering to hide his condescension "You're a pretty young ghost. You'll have time to work on it."

The boy snorted again. "You're definitely as arrogant as they say."

Normally, that would have incensed the half-ghost, but his mood had improved immensely since he'd started the chess game. The boy was even an amusing conversationalist. "It comes with the territory of being the best."

"And yet you don't have everything you want."

Vlad froze, staring at the boy who was studying him right back. "You work tirelessly for something that you know you cannot buy... I wonder what it is."

And there went Vlad's good mood for the day. "What a rude question. Hasn't anyone told you not to ask ghosts about their obsession?"

"I wasn't asking," the boy said with a dismissive wave of his hand, sounding almost as condescending as Vlad had just a few seconds ago. "I was merely speculating."

"That still tends to be a social faux pas among ghosts."

"I see," Phantom said thoughtfully, cocking his head to one side. "I'm curious: how do ghosts ever fulfill their obsession if they never address it?"

Vlad frowned and stood. "I think that's enough for one day."

"Alright!" Phantom smiled and began to gather the pieces. "If you see that box, I'd appreciate you letting me know."

"It could literally be any box," the older ghost pointed out, one eyebrow raised in question.

The white-haired ghost shrugged. "You're not wrong. But I'd appreciate it anyway. Oh, and one more thing," he stood and his grin widened. "I'm sure you've heard I'm living... er... existing? After-living? Hmm... Oh, taking up residence in Amity Park. I'm claiming it as my haunt. Anyone and anything within the city and the surrounding areas is now under my protection, K? I was told to spread it around and let people know so they don't think they can come barging in. But you wouldn't do that, I'm sure.

"Anyway, bye, Plasmius! Thanks for the game." And with that, the boy flew back through the portal.

Vlad stared after him for several seconds. Amity Park... that oaf Jack and Madaline... And now Vlad couldn't approach either one of them without potentially going against the Ghost Council. Not that he didn't think it would be extremely hard to take them, but still...

Had the boy known somehow? Had he sought Vlad out?

The half-ghost thought back to the game they'd just played and frowned. No, the boy's strategies showed experience and intelligence, but not the underhanded cunning that would be needed for something like that.

Unless... the boy had been holding back and throwing Vlad off with that blinding smile of his...

He shook his head. Nah. One could only take conspiracy theories so far before they became ridiculous.

"Very well, boy," he said aloud. "Warning acknowledged. Now let's see if you can back it up."

xXx

"And that's a wrap!"

The studio burst into a relative cacophony of sound as they finished shooting the news for that day. Tiffany Snow, shot her co-anchor a smile as they gathered up their papers.

"Great job," she said.

"Not as great as you," he countered, as he always did. At first, that had made her a little uncomfortable. Now, she just brushed it off with an eye roll and a fond shake of her head before turning to go back to her office.

She smiled and nodded to people as she passed them. She didn't even know most of their names, but she was the happy-go-lucky news anchor, and she had to play the part.

Couldn't most actresses, when they turned off the camera, at least take the mask off?

She waited until the door to her private room was closed before she slumped against it, massaging her cheeks. Then she reached down and took her pumps off. At least it was the end of the day. She just had a couple more things to do before she could head home and turn on _Lost._

"Um... did I come at a bad time?" A voice asked.

She jumped and shrieked. There hadn't been anyone in there before! She' would have seen them! Just what...

She whipped around and her mind went blank, because there, before her, _floated_ a boy with white hair and green eyes, dressed in a black suit of some kind. She just sat there for several seconds, mouth opening and closing like a fish. What could she say to this _utterly impossible_ image?

"Um... hi? I'm Danny Phantom." He held out his hand. She didn't react. He slowly retracted his hand and it went to his other arm, rubbing it self-consciously. "I'm a ghost?"

That's what pushed it over the edge. She finally let out a tired sigh and put a hand to the bridge of her nose.

"Nice one, Carlos. You got me good. Great job with the effects, they look almost real. Ha, ha. You can turn it off now."

The boy didn't disappear. "Um... I'm not an illusion." He said it slowly, as if trying to make sure a skittish animal wouldn't bolt. He reached down and picked up a couple of things off of her desk. Her foundation bottle and some pens.

"Okay, I'm impressed," she said. Because this _had_ to be an illusion of some kind.

He sighed and then brought the bottle over to her and held it out for her to take. She raised an eyebrow and didn't move to accept it. He sighed again and dropped it on the rug. It bounced a little, thankfully didn't break, and just kind of sat there.

"Wires?" she asked, hoping she sounded a lot firmer than she felt. She'd always hated haunted houses. "Or Magnets?"

Looking frustrated, the boy shot forward and grabbed her hand before she could move away. It felt cold. And the material was smooth...

She felt the color drain from her face as the boy spoke again. "I'm real. I'm not a hologram or special effect. I'm also not here to hurt you. I... didn't really know who else to go to. I thought about going to Lance Thunder –"

"The weatherman?" she cut in, noting in a sort of panic-induced shock that she was getting more hysterical by the moment.

"Yeah. He's also a stand-by on-the-spot anchorman, isn't he?"

"In-field reporter," she corrected numbly.

He nodded. "Exactly." She still wasn't sure what that had to do with anything. "Thing is, I think people will listen to you more."

She let out a small half-squeak, half-chuckle that really said more about the state of her mind than it did abut the actual situation at hand.

"You see," the boy continued, finally dropping her hand, "recent circumstances have led this area of the world to be far more accessible to ghosts. Normally we reside in the Ghost Zone, more or less a dimension connected to and directly reliant upon this one. However, the barrier between here and the Ghost Zone had gotten particularly thin, recently, and ghosts are likely to start showing up far more often."

Could anyone blame her if she whimpered a little. She'd tried to keep her fear of the supernatural hidden. It wasn't like she wanted that knowledge out there for everyone to attack at their leisure. That didn't mean she could just ignore it when it jumped into her face like this.

"I want you to report on it, if you can."

She let out an actual laugh (still slightly hysterical) at that.

"You want me to report that there will be ghosts in Amity Park? Do you _want_ me to lose my job as well as my mind?"

He frowned. "You haven't lost your mind."

She snorted at that, somehow unable to hide her hysterics.

"Look, ghosts will be showing up on a more frequent basis, but I'm going to do my best to stop them. When this comes out, could you _please_ try and see it that way at least?"

"I'm not the only one who makes decisions on how things are presented." She didn't even try and put up the front of non-bias that they were supposed to try and stick to.

He sighed again. He did that a lot. Which kind of freaked her out. Ghosts weren't _supposed_ to breathe, let alone sigh!

"Can you at least point me to a decent publicist?"

It took her a minute for her to process that. When she finally did, she walked over to the desk, almost as if on auto-pilot, and opened the top drawer. There were several business cards in there, neatly organized. She found the area on publicists, grabbed a couple of them, then turned around and held them out.

The kid took them. Tiffany tried not to faint.

"Thanks," he finally said, looking through the cards. "How much can I expect to spend on this?"

She shrugged (at least she thought she did). "Depends on what you want done. Could be anywhere from a couple hundred to a couple thousand a month."

He winced and then sighed. "Right," he said. "Well, thanks. Um..." he looked her up and down uncomfortably. "Will you be alright? You... don't look so good."

"I'll be fine," she assured him, ignoring how her voice came out far squeakier than normal.

He shot her one last dubious look, then floated towards the ceiling. "Well, thanks," he repeated before he _flew through the wall_.

Right about then, her legs gave out on her and she fell to her knees. It took her a minute to realize that the makeup bottle was on the rug just a couple of feet in front of her. Shakily, she reached out and grabbed the familiar, cool and _very real_ bottle.

She didn't know how long she sat there before a knock came to her door. It took her several seconds to respond. When she did, the person on the other side, an aid, peeked their head in, saw her kneeling on her carpet and frowned.

"Are you alright?"

No. No, she wasn't.

But she couldn't let them know that.

"I just dropped something," she said, forcing herself to stand and ignoring how unsteady she felt.

"Oh," they responded skeptically. "Well Mr. Turner wants to know if you've finished with the notes for the late-night broadcast."

"Right," Tiffany said. "I was just finishing them. I'll have them ready to go in a couple of minutes."

The aid nodded, bid farewell and left. Tiffany took a deep breath and turned to her desk. Ghosts or not, she had a job to finish, after all.

She'd think on the implications of everything later. If she had her way, _much_ later.

xXx

Danny couldn't help but be frustrated with just how difficult it seemed to be to get someone on his side. If anyone actually _believed _ghosts existed, they automatically thought they were evil and wouldn't give him a chance. The whole situation was biased – _racist_ even – from the get go. No one should just _decide_ someone is or isn't evil because of how they were born/made. Ugh.

He walked down the school hallways alone, moody and angry. Thankfully, few other students were around to bother him.

Of course, that's when he looked up and saw Sam coming towards him with the box filled with mechanical frogs and blinked. Oh, right... he remembered those. Tucker was approaching too and Danny had to let out a sigh. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same. While Sam explained her ideas of treating frogs humanely to Tucker, Danny felt his ghost sense go off.

"I am the Box Ghost!"

Oh, the irony. Talk about staying the same. Danny turned to the ghost and crossed his arms.

"BG," he said firmly, "I thought we'd discussed this."

"No one else is near!"

Danny sighed. He had a point there at least. Still. "I just gave you an update."

"I wish to help!"

"Well," Danny countered, "have you been looking in the Ghost Zone again?"

"I have!"

"Nothing?"

"Nooooo!"

Danny sighed. "I've been asking around too. I asked Ghostwriter and Plasmius. I wanted to ask Walker, but figured now isn't a good time, so there's that possibility, and—"

"Wait," the Box Ghost said in a thankfully normal (if incredulous) voice. "You actually asked Vlad Plasmius about my box? That's insane!"

The half-ghost shrugged. "I got in and out without being harmed, delivered every message I needed him to hear and we actually had an amusing discussion over a game of chess. I don't see what the big deal is."

Box Ghost just stared at him. Then he leaned back suspiciously. "Who are you really? Because no new ghost could do that."

The white-haired boy rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. It's just a matter of using my head. Get him interested, then give him exactly what he's expecting with a little spice to keep that interest."

"That... sounds dangerous."

Danny conceded with a shrug and nod of his head. "Yeah, but it's also my life and choice. Anyway, there's your update. Now, how do you think you'll be able to help us go through records?"

"Do you not need more people to go through all of these records of death?!"

And they were back to the eye-roll-inducing voice. Joy. "We'll think about it. But until we can get something worked out, for your safety and everyone else's, I need you to go back to the Ghost Zone. I hope that will be able to change soon, but it's a work in progress."

The Box Ghost stared at him again like he'd grown another head. He checked. Nope, just one. Okay then. After a couple of seconds, the ghost raised his hands and shouted, "Very well! Beware!" And vanished.

Sighing, he turned to see Tucker and Sam staring at him much like the Box Ghost had. He checked again. No extra head. Or limbs. Which was good, he hadn't been trying to duplicate.

"What?" he asked.

His friends exchanged looks. Then Sam put her box down and folded her arms, mimicking the stance Tucker had taken.

"Ghostwriter? Plasmius?" Tucker asked, his voice hard. "Who are they?"

Sam glared. "What exactly is going on?"

Danny sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbeta'd. Haven't heard from my beta in a while. SO, with that in mind, looks like I'll be looking for a new one. Anyone want to volunteer?
> 
> (FYI, if you read this, LittleSnowyRascal, you're still welcome to beta read, kk?)
> 
> And yup, I brought Vlad in Early. :D


	18. Partial Explanations and Discoveries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is VERY late, but I've been out of town for conventions and family stuff and it threw off my sleep schedule. This is the first day I've had a decent sleep and that I feel I'm in a Right-Enough-Mind (tm) to handle posting and everything. SO, you get this now. 
> 
> Thank you for all your support, and I've had a couple of people approach me for beta reading. Thank you! I should be getting back to you soon! <3 
> 
> Not a whole lot happens in this chapter, but I found it satisfying.
> 
> This chapter has not been beta read.

"So... you've been to the Ghost Zone a couple of times already, _without backup_, and you _didn't tell us?_!" Tucker asked, throwing his hands in the air angrily.

"I told Jazz," Danny said placatingly. "And she had strict instructions to come and get you to get me if something went wrong."

"You're missing the point, Danny!" Sam responded, arms folded and eyes narrowed. "We have no idea what's in there! We don't know how dangerous it is! Going in was beyond reckless!"

"Why didn't you call us or ask us, dude?" Tucker asked, sounding genuinely hurt.

"Mainly because you guys aren't ghosts..." he said. "The Ghost Zone is dangerous... but not as much so for a ghost."

"Are you hearing yourself?!" Sam practically growled. "It's dangerous for humans! _YOU'RE STILL HUMAN!_"

"Half," Danny said, although he could hear himself backing down. Facing off against either one of them was a challenge. Facing off against both of them... was kind of terrifying.

Sam had tears in her eyes and Tucker was looking like a very angry kicked puppy.

So Danny sighed. Again. "I'm sorry, guys. I... just didn't think about it. Honestly. I didn't want to leave you out, I promise."

"What's with you, dude?" Tucker asked. "You've... changed."

The half-ghost raised his eyebrows in surprise. He thought he'd been doing a decent job here.

"You thought we wouldn't notice?" Sam asked, scoffing.

For a moment, Danny was tempted to tell them again... but another small glance at Sam stopped him. Then he sighed and figured that part of the truth was better than none. "To be fair, I did get killed, turned into a fully-realized ghost and then shoved back into my body and resuscitated," he pointed out.

The other two stepped back as one, and stared at him, pale-faced.

"Y-you don't know that," Sam tried, but Danny shook his head.

"No, I do. Um... I'm not sure how mad he'll get for me telling you this, but I think I have to. So, after the accident, a ghost showed up in my room. Not just a normal ghost, but the ghost of time. He's a very old, very powerful spirit, and he watches over the world. I've seen his control over time with my own eyes," he said, forestalling Sam's argument, likely that he couldn't trust this new ghost. He appreciated her caution, misplaced as it was. "In any case, with what happened in the portal, I... um... sort of changed the future of the world, and he wanted to come and confirm it himself. He... told me... about how I became... like this. I don't think he even really meant to, or he thought I already knew. In any case, he's been really helpful and I trust him."

"Why didn't you tell us again?" Tucker asked.

Danny sighed. "Because I've been trying to process it all myself. I _died_, Tuck. That's... not just something you accept right off the bat. I needed time to come to terms with this all."

Sam still looked skeptical. "So, you were going to tell us."

"Wait," Tucker spoke up, "was this what you were talking about when you told me you wanted to tell us and that you would when you were ready?"

Danny smiled over at his friend. "Partially," he said. "I mean, there's more," he shot a look over at Sam for the briefest moment before returning it to Tuck. Then he looked over at her purposefully, hoping she hadn't seen that or that she dismissed it. "A lot more, and I do plan on telling you guys everything, but..."

"But you have to come to terms with it first," Tucker said, suddenly looking tired himself. Danny nodded, hoping he looked as apologetic as he felt. Sam was still frowning, but she looked far less angry than she had just a couple of minutes before.

"Look, I know I've changed... a lot. And a lot of it does have to do with the portal. But the two things I really _don't_ want to lose are my friends and my family. You guys don't know how much I appreciate what you do – even if it's calling me out for being a thoughtless idiot."

Sam blushed a little and looked away. "You can be," she muttered.

He nodded. "You're right, I can be. And I'm sorry. The next time I go into the zone, I'll take you guys with me if I can, okay?"

"And you'll shoot us a text otherwise," Tucker insisted. "If you can text your sister, you can text us too."

Danny chuckled. "Deal."

They all shared a grin, even if it wasn't as expansive as their normal smiles. They were still real, and Danny couldn't help but be grateful for that. Then Sam bent down and picked up her box of mechanical frogs. "Come on. We'll be late for the assembly."

The two boys exchanged fond, if mildly exasperated, glances before following her down the hall.

xXx

Danny had never been phenomenal at building stuff from the ground up. That had been more of his parents' area of expertise. The master's degree the half-ghost had earned in the future dealt more with the physics behind the Ghost Zone. It also included studying and classifying ghosts – figuring out how they worked, how they fit into or expanded upon (or redefined) Earth's current systems of classification, what that could mean for ghost and human interactions, how ectoplasmic entities could evolve and their danger level, etc. Other than that, he'd dealt more with recording, understanding and classifying how ghost powers worked and what physical rules governed their existences than anything else. Why could they do what they did and how could humans replicate or help to moderate that? Did it all have to do with ectoplasm? A substance that, while found in humans, was otherwise neutral? It just sort of existed, so what gave ghosts the ability to do what they did? How did it get emotionally charged to a point where it could physically manifest?

It had been fascinating, but honestly, Danny wasn't looking forward to having to redo all of his work this time around. As interesting is it was, he wanted to move forward and figure out _more_, not redo everything he'd already done. So he was planning on putting it off until after he got his parents on board. And that would happen soon. Maybe after the trip to Wisconsin?

Until then, Danny was stuck working in the area of science he tended to be the worst at: building and modifying hardware. There was a reason he wanted Technus as an ally. While he could watch and observe and try to figure out patterns and parallels for hours, for some reason working on his parents' inventions just made him want to tear his hair out. It was all the little wires and connections he had to worry about, and welding correctly and having such a steady hand and the pressure of it all... He _really _didn't like to do anything like that unless he absolutely had to.

Unfortunately, right now, he had to.

His parents had come up with a specter deflector prototype that they wanted him to wear. Now he had to copy it as best he could and modify his copy so it could contain a ghost's energy signature instead of repel it. He had a little while to finish it, as Ember wouldn't be in Amity until March, but he knew he'd need to start on it now to get anything of decent quality finished by the time she got there (although, before would be better). He couldn't just adjust his own and give it to her (although he definitely planned on adjusting it) because his parents would get suspicious about him 'losing' his. Fortunately, he and Jazz had also talked them into giving Danny a key to his own belt as wearing it in the shower or during gym class would be difficult to swing with the teachers, embarrassing with the other students, and honestly going overboard. It had taken quite a lot of effort on the teens' part, but eventually they'd worn their parents down.

Fortunately, this prototype wasn't as strong as the prototype he remembered his parents making the first time around, so if it didn't touch his skin (he wore it over his pants and under his shirt), he was only mildly uncomfortable in his human form. It wasn't anything he couldn't deal with, honestly, so he just went about the day as best he could with it on and left it with Sam or Tucker if he had to go ghost.

He sighed as he raised the face shield he'd been wearing and studied his handiwork. It wasn't nearly as professional as his parents' but it should do. He hoped so in any case. Scrounging up the different parts and working when his parents weren't there had been... difficult to say the least. Even though his father could be oblivious, he was strangely focused when it came to his possessions. Apparently it was part of the mild autism his father had been diagnosed with in the future. Danny wasn't quite sure how that worked, but Jazz's brains and her strange fixations (not to mention some of Danny's own quirks) had been attributed to an even milder case of it. It may have also been part of why Danny and Jazz both had issues, sometimes, figuring out social faux pas and why it never even occurred to his father to try and figure the same faux pas out.

"Well, here goes nothing," he muttered as he turned on the belt. It was kind of obvious, but with a little spray paint, maybe some rub 'n buff, and some acrylic touch ups, it shouldn't look too bad from on stage. Besides, if it _looked_ cheap, no one would really think of it as something significant, right? He might just be stuck scrounging up more parts and making a couple more different ones for different costumes. He didn't remember her having too many, but was that because she was a ghost, or because it was just her look or because he hadn't been paying much attention...

Well, they'd have to figure out the nuances later. He checked the Fenton RV Tracker to see where his parents were. Still out in the city, chasing ghosts. They seemed to be near the park for now. Good. That meant he still had time to test this out.

Cracking his neck (he'd definitely been sitting too long), he transformed and then buckled the belt into place. It really didn't look pretty right now, haphazardly thrown together with wires glued to the inside of a thick, brown belt. It definitely sat wrong on his hips, but didn't people wear belts at strange angles these days? Meh... if not, Ember could start a trend.

Then Danny turned on the new Fenton Detector. He had to admit, this was part of the reason why he'd decided that he had to finish his project for Ember _now_. His parents had told him they'd start scanning him for ecto-energy once they finished (he'd been keeping an eye on them and realized they'd just finished that morning), and he had to have something to stop them. He hoped that he and Jazz were making progress in highlighting and challenging their biases, but they still had a ways to go. So, this was just as much for him as it was for her.

"Alright," he muttered as he stood in front of the scanner. "Let's see if I've gotten something, or completely screwed it up."

It went haywire.

Danny sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He was sure he'd fixed everything this time... Frustrated he went to take the belt off when he realized something...

He'd forgotten to turn it on.

Ugh. He really was more like his parents than he wanted to admit.

Shaking his head, he flipped the switch on and the belt hummed for a moment, then glowed. To Danny's relief, the Fenton Detector quieted down almost immediately. It still showed _some_ ectoplasmic signature, but nothing he couldn't likely explain away. He may want to try and up the strength for Ember's, but all in all he couldn't help but grin. He'd done it! He'd made an invention on his own! Admittedly, he'd had a guide to follow, but still!

Grinning, he changed back to Fenton, willing the transformation to not touch the belt.

It still fizzed and sparked when the rings passed over it, shocking Danny a bit.

"Ow!" he yelped, then sagged a bit when the Fenton Detector went haywire again.

"Ugh," he muttered, reaching over and turning it off. "Back to the old drawing board."

But he had an idea of what had happened. His ghost energy had likely overloaded... well, there were a couple of components it could have overloaded. None of them would be too difficult to replace. If he had a couple more wires and some connectors, he might even be able to enhance it...

He went looking for a couple more things and some replacement parts, because he _would_ finish this tonight.

xXx

Jazz bit her lip nervously as her parents scanned her for ecto-energy, insisting they do so before she left for school. She knew she'd be fine, but Danny...

She shot a glance over at him. He didn't seem nervous at all. Did he have a plan? Probably... she hoped so.

"Alright, Jazzy-pants! You're all clear!" Her father boomed.

"I still think you're wrong about ghosts," she said, almost flippantly. She knew they wouldn't take her seriously.

Her parents exchanged glances, but didn't say anything. Probably a good idea if they wanted to keep the peace so their kids could get to school.

They turned their equipment on Danny. Jazz sucked in a silent breath. Their parents looked over the information for a few moments.

"Well, it's a little higher than Jazz's, but still within expected parameters," her mother said finally. Jazz let out the breath she'd been holding.

"Guess I've just been exposed to more," Danny said with a shrug. Then he smiled at his parents. "I agree with Jazz."

Their mother sighed and their father pouted.

"I still love you both, by the way," their son said, throwing his arms around his father, and then his mother.

Jazz smiled at the scene. It was sweet and did seem to lighten their moods.

"Are you wearing your belt?" Maddie asked sternly.

Danny reached down to his waist and grabbed something clunky that hung there through the bottom of his shirt, which covered it completely.

"Alright. Be safe," their mom said as the two children hurried out the door.

"Want a ride?" Jazz asked.

"Sure," Danny replied. "Thanks."

"No problem," she said, unlocking her car and slipping inside. Danny did so on the passenger side and went to buckle in.

"Alright," Jazz said after he'd closed the door, "how did you do that?

Her brother grinned, reached down and lifted his shirt. A very clunky-looking mechanical mess sat where the Specter Deflector should be. Jazz just stared.

"Danny, what is that?"

"It conceals a ghost's signature so it can't be detected. At least not with current technology."

Jazz just blinked as she stared at it, then looked up at her brother's grinning face, then back at the mess around his waist. "You... _made _that?"

Danny's expression turned wry as he put his shirt back down. "Yup. I know it isn't exactly on mom and dad's level, but it _worked_."

The red-head felt herself frown. "Didn't you work with mom and dad on things like that in the future?"

Her brother shrugged. "Yeah, but I just had the basics down. I know how to string things together. I'm not very good at it though. And I'm terrible at troubleshooting. I think I'm a bit more like dad in that aspect," he grumbled that last part and Jazz had to cover a smile with her hand.

"What?" Danny asked, sounding defensive. "Dad has some great ideas! And he's pretty good at building things. He just... tends to rush through things."

"Is that what you do?" Jazz asked as she eased out into the relatively empty street. People tended to avoid their street... for obvious reasons. She'd avoid this street if she could.

Danny folded his arms a little huffily. "No. I mean, yes, I get impatient, but dad actually enjoys it. I enjoy a finished product. He likes the process. So does mom. It just frustrates me."

"Well," the older sibling said with a smile, "I'm proud of you for making it, then." They pulled to a stop sign at the end of the street, and she reached over to ruffle her brother's hair.

"Hey!" he protested, but he didn't sound (or look) too upset.

She just widened her grin and then pushed on the gas pedal once the intersection was clear.

xXx

"Danny! I found it!" Sam said excitedly over the computer screen.

Jazz and Danny blinked at each other blankly, and then looked over at the screen.

"Here, let me send it to you!"

A file slowly transferred over and Danny opened it quickly. The file popped up on screen.

No picture, but it did have, in cursive, a death certificate for a Jonathan Beasley, age 24. His death had been a shipping container accident.

Danny just stared at it for what felt like forever. They'd been looking for several hours, twice a week for what felt like years (it was only a month and a half though) and... he'd gotten used to the idea that they likely _wouldn't_ find it. Actually, them finding it this soon was kind of... a miracle.

"I can't believe it," Jazz said.

"Is it the real thing?" Tucker asked from his own screen.

Danny felt a smile grow on his face. "I think so, Tuck."

"It wasn't from Amity Park," Sam said. "It's from Chicago."

"That's a couple of hours drive from here."

Sam shrugged, still grinning in triumph. "I figured it was a good place to look. I've been looking through those records for the last couple of weeks. Having the name helped."

Danny just laughed. "You're _brilliant_, Sam! Now we can see if we can track his family down!"

The goth's grin just widened. "On it."

"You don't have to tonight," Danny said. "I mean, I want to stop by the Box Ghost's lair and let him know the good news."

Silence.

Danny blinked.

"You are _not_ going without one of us along," Jazz said.

Sam and Tucker agreed with firm nods.

The half-ghost sighed. "Fine. Jazz, want to come?"

"I can use a dummy number to call your parents to get them out of the house," Tucker said.

Danny nodded. "Great idea Tuck. You do that now. Jazz and I will take the Specter Speeder. It should be done about now." After all, his parents had been working on that almost since before they'd started on this portal. "I'll need you to come over to let us back in though. Can you do that?"

Tucker nodded. "Shouldn't be a problem. Curfew's still not for another two hours."

"Alright. Let's go," Jazz said firmly. Danny could see how her face had paled though. He didn't really blame her. But he had promised that he'd take someone.

"Calling now," Tucker said.

Five minutes later, they heard their parents practically stampede out of the house.

Danny and Jazz found the Specter Speeder off to the side, right where they were expecting it. It turned on just fine, it hovered just fine, and while it was obviously not finished, it looked like it would work for them.

"Alright!" the half ghost grinned. "Get ready for the tour of your life, Jazz."

She swallowed as she got behind the driver's seat. "That's what I'm afraid of."

Danny shot her a reassuring grin before opening the portal. Then he hurried to the other side of the Specter Speeder and they flew in.

"Is... it always like this?" Jazz asked, looking around nervously. "I mean... there isn't even ground. How do you orient yourself?"

Her brother opened his mouth to answer, then closed it again, thinking about that.

"That's... a good question. I just kind of... do. I mean, I know where the portal is, and that's always been my ground zero. I don't know how other ghosts orient themselves. I would guess that wherever they live, they count that as their starting point and orient everything else off of that."

Jazz leaned out a little, looking over the side. "How far down does it go?"

Danny pulled her back in as a random ghost rushed by. She gasped.

"Um... I don't know. I tend to go horizontal more than anything else. I haven't found an end to the Ghost Zone. This isn't a planet, it's a realm. Probably closer to outer space... except with a breathable atmosphere and no vacuum. Don't ask me how that all works with physics. Considering that all ghosts have a type of magic when it comes to their powers, I'm pretty sure the ectoplasmic energy has something to do with it."

Jazz's fingers tightened on the steering wheel. "You're not really reassuring me."

The half-ghost smiled at her sympathetically as he tried to ignore his ghost sense going crazy. "How about this: I've been here often enough that I can get us home easily. I'll make sure nothing happens to you, and if you fall, I'll catch you."

Jazz shot a thankful smile towards him.

It took them about fifteen or so minutes to get to the Box Ghost's lair. They ran across a couple of ghosts, but none who were particularly memorable, and none above a level 40 on the GEV scale. Danny couldn't help but be relieved. He could likely protect his sister, even at his current power level, but it could potentially be difficult, depending on the ghost. He couldn't even throw a decent ectoplasmic blast. Well, he could, but they tended to putter out before he could do anything. He'd much rather prefer not using each power until they stabilized. Of course, him being able to talk down most of the major ghosts who popped up helped there. And, thankfully, Skulker hadn't come back yet, so he was just keeping an eye out for the lower GEV scale ghosts around Amity currently.

Well, he would be if he wasn't in the middle of the Ghost Zone about to break some very good news to an ally.

He told Jazz to stop, and she did so. Then Danny changed into his ghost form and got out of the speeder. He floated up to and knocked on the door and then couldn't help but fidget while he waited. This was exciting news, after all.

Eventually the Box Ghost opened the door and then blinked when he saw Danny there.

"Hellooooo! What news have youuu?" he asked.

Danny sighed. "Seriously, you're not scary like that and it's very hard to take you seriously."

The Box Ghost studied Danny for a couple of moments before dropping the act.

"Fine. Why are you here?"

Danny grinned. "Johnathan Beasley, age 24, born and raised in Chicago, Illinois."

For several seconds, the Box Ghost just stared in a sort of open shock at Danny, who pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over. He was glad he'd taken the liberty of printing out a copy of the death certificate before they'd left.

The ghost just stared down at the piece of paper as if he couldn't comprehend what he could see written on it.

"You... found it?" he asked in the softest voice Danny had ever heard from him.

The half-ghost grinned. "Yup. Actually, it was my friend Sam who went looking in Chicago. She found it."

The Box Ghost continued to stare at the paper for several seconds, but then he hugged the paper to is chest. Danny grinned.

"And the box?"

That caused the half-ghost's smile and dim a bit. "We're still looking into it. Hopefully this will give us a good lead, but we're only human... and ghost. But I told you we'd keep you updated."

The Box Ghost continued to stare at Danny before rushing forward. Danny didn't have the time to move as the ghost threw his arms around the half-ghost. Danny stiffened and awkwardly patted the Box Ghost on his back.

"Thank you, so much," the Box Ghost said. "I don't know why you did this... but thank you."

Danny felt himself relaxing a little. "You're welcome, Johnathan."

He politely ignored the half laugh/half sob that he heard coming from the ghost's mouth.

"Alright, alright," he said after a couple of seconds, "don't make it weird."

"I'm a ghost. It's my joooob to make things weird!" Johnathan said as he backed away. "Beware!"

Danny just sighed and shook his head. Then he glanced back at Jazz. He could think of a lot of good reasons to introduce Box Ghost to Jazz. Not the least of which was that he could foist said ghost onto her when he showed up. He hoped his grin didn't look too mischievous.

"Hey, Johnathan, want to meet my sister?"

A couple of blinks as Box Ghost looked at him, then leaned past him to see the Specter Speeder and the teenager sitting inside behind the wheel. She still looked uncomfortable, and waved at them when she saw their attention on her. It was actually a little amazing that the ghost hadn't shown up around his sister yet, to be honest.

"Your sister?!" he asked in his usual voice. Then seemed to think about it. "Sure, why not?" he said, his tone dropping to something more normal.

"Great. She's studying to be a psychologist... or a brain surgeon. She hasn't decided yet. Come on." And with that, he led the Box Ghost over to the speeder, knowing that if Jazz tried to kill him for this that it would be worth it.


	19. Desiree and Discussions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT NOTE AT THE END!

Sam started to come down with a cold a couple of days later.

Just after that, Tucker and Danny made plans to go to the local street fair that popped up once a year or so. It occurred to Danny while he was telling Jazz and Dora why he wouldn't be sticking around for their session that his plans seemed familiar, but he couldn't place exactly what was about to happen.

Then he and Tuck got covered in an ocean of pink cotton candy... and Danny groaned.

"Desiree..." he muttered to himself.

Next to him, Tucker blinked, coming out of a daze. "What was that?"

"I was just wondering where this came from."

His best friend just blinked at him. "You mean, the ghost lady over there didn't clue you in? Or, you know, the mist coming out of your mouth?"

Yeah, that had been a pretty bad cover up. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"I should... probably go ghost."

Tucker just shot him an unimpressed look.

"Don't... eat too much, k?"

"Please," the techno-geek said. "Like I'd eat ghost-made food."

Danny opened his mouth to defend ghost-made food... then closed it, because why would he have a reason to defend it? Well, they knew about his truce with the Lunch Lady... but still.

Yeah, not worth it. And he had a genie ghost to confront.

"Going ghost," he muttered, unable to throw off the embarrassed tone as he turned intangible and floated out of the sticky sea of pink to confront Desiree.

"Hey," he called out to her, "what was that about?" He pointed down to the sea of pink.

"The child wished it, and thus I granted it," Desiree said in a voice that came off as a little ethereal but also nonchalant.

Danny cocked his head to the side. "Any wish?" he asked.

The genie ghost blinked at him, then smiled smugly.

"What is it your heart desires?"

For a moment Danny froze. Clockwork had once told him that under the right circumstances, some ghosts' powers could even trump his. He'd stated Ghostwriter and Desiree as examples.

It suddenly occurred to the time-traveler that he could wish to go home... to the future – his future that he remembered – without depriving this world of its Danny too.

If he just wished...

And yet, he knew that Desiree was more in line with Djinn than Genies as they were known in modern times. Asking for a wish from her was like asking for a wish from the monkey's paw – always some terrible price to be paid in return.

As much as he yearned to open his mouth and wish to be sent back, he really knew better.

Didn't stop it from hurting.

It took him a minute to just breathe past his longing, ignoring the ache in his chest and the growing sadness. It seemed as if his entire life had just been snatched away from him yet again (it really hadn't, but it_ felt_ that way) and just smiled at her, hoping he looked friendly. Well, friendlier than he felt in any case.

With monumental effort, he pushed everything he'd just thought and felt to the side, falling back on his original idea of how to deal with her. "I wish you'd follow the rules of my haunt."

The genie ghost paused and blinked. Silence fell around them as she processed that. Then she closed her eyes and brought a hand up to rub the bridge of her nose.

"So you have wished it, so shall it be," she muttered. Then she sighed. "What exactly are your rules then, young..."

"Phantom," he replied with a grin. "Danny Phantom. And my rules are as follows: 1. Don't hurt humans – don't take them over, don't brainwash them, don't make them do something they wouldn't otherwise do and don't put them in extreme positions if at all possible. This includes the local ghost hunters unless they are about ready to obliterate or capture you. 2. Don't hurt other ghosts, same rules apply. No brainwashing, no random attacks, no messing with obsessions. 3. If you see a ghost going against the above rules, contact me somehow. 4. Don't do anything that would bring a lot of negative attention to ghosts. Actually, with you, I'd say any real attention." She was just too good at finding loopholes otherwise. "Little wishes are fine, but if you have a question as to whether I'd find it too big or not, you can always come and ask me."

"I grant every wish I hear," she said, face deadpan.

"Then I wish you wouldn't grant every wish you hear."

More blinking. "S... so you have wished it, so it shall be."

Danny shot her a sympathetic look. "If that starts interfering with your obsession, let me know."

Desiree frowned, still looking a little stunned. "Er… I… just…"

She paused again, studying him up and down.

"I... very well, then. And what exactly do you define as 'little' wishes?"

Danny shrugged. "That someone remembers what they need to for a test. That they do the best they can in a game tournament. That their car will start if it was running yesterday and is still in decent condition. That they find an extra couple of coins for a snack... things like that. No changing the weather, no million bucks, and even the small wishes can't be consistent. Like, someone wishes to find an extra five bucks to get some food can't have the same wish granted every day or the same day every week. It needs to be subtle. Does that make sense?"

"With your restrictions, it will take me far longer than it otherwise would to fulfill my obsession," she said angrily.

"But this way you _can_ fulfill it," Danny pointed out.

Desiree looked puzzled and a little troubled at that.

The half-ghost sighed. "Look, um..." he paused, waiting for her to introduce herself. He didn't want to have to explain why he knew who she was to Tucker.

"Desiree," she said, a little sullenly.

"Desiree," he repeated with an apologetic smile. "These rules aren't in place to stop ghosts from achieving their goals. They're there to prevent you from stopping others from achieving their goals. If you hurt other humans, you and I will have a problem because our goals will be in direct opposition. However, there are ways for you to achieve your goals and for me to achieve my goals if you're willing to be a little patient. I'll even help you out and let you know about little wishes I come across.

"I also want to point out that drawing attention from the wrong kind of people will get you and many other ghosts hurt or sent to oblivion. With what you've done here today, it'll likely be all over the news. I want a peaceful community, and right now, humans aren't ready for ghosts. I hope to change that soon, but having ghosts attack them – or even grant them large wishes that can cause a lot of jealousy, frustration, anger and pain – won't help. I've really tried to create rules where everybody wins. Not sure how well I succeeded, so you're more than welcome to come to me and petition to change a rule or have it added on to or make an exception."

Danny paused. "Does that make sense?"

Again, the genie ghost didn't look too happy, but she did nod. "Yes. It does. Not that it matters, much. I must follow your rules now, no matter what they are."

The half-ghost frowned. "That... doesn't sound like a very healthy power. I'm glad you can choose now." Even if he didn't like forcing it on her – this could still have some nasty consequences. "So you couldn't choose before?"

Desiree looked away. "I could... bend the rules a bit, but... granting wishes... if I heard one..."

Right, obsession.

"Well... I hope this helps you more than hurts you, but I can't bend on this. There will be wishes you cannot grant here. This is the human world and it runs on very different rules than the Ghost Zone."

The genie ghost blinked and tipped her head to one side, looking puzzled again. "You really mean that..."

The half-ghost frowned. "Well, yeah. Why wouldn't I want some defined rules for my haunt?"

Desiree shook her head. "No, about how you hope that helps more than hurts me."

"Oh," Danny replied softly, eyes widening in realization as he nodded.

"Huh. Very well, I will do my best to follow the rules of your haunt."

"Thank you," he said.

"We must leave here, then," she said, looking around at the people who were just now getting brave enough to come out and gape. Some of them had even taken their phones out. "I am feeling compelled to fly away from the... scrutiny. No doubt a response to your wish."

"Right," Danny said. "How about I find you later and give you the more in-depth run down and the punishments and all. That okay?"

Desiree looked him up and down, expression unreadable. Then she nodded.

"Alright, then. See you at the park later tonight then?"

The genie ghost nodded in agreement, and with that, they both flew in opposite directions. Danny discreetly sent Tucker a glance, then moved his eyes over to a row of tents, behind which were enough trees that he'd have relative privacy to change back. Tucker got the message and met him back there a couple of minutes later.

He got there just after Danny transformed back.

"So," Tucker said with a raised eyebrow, "a genie ghost?"

"Yeah. Apparently, she has to grant wishes. But I told her the rules around here and if she can follow them, I don't have an issue with her being here."

Danny's best friend blinked, then tipped his head to one side. "Wishes? Like, if I wished for a million bucks—"

The blue-eyed teen yelped, rushed forward, and slapped his hand over the other boy's mouth. Maybe Desiree was willing to try, and his own wish compelled her, but there was no guarantee that his wish would override her obsession. He didn't want to take any chances."No! No wishing, or almost wishing for something like that, and trust me, a million bucks isn't all it's cut out to be."

Tucker's own eyes widened and he said something from behind Danny's hand. The half-ghost immediately removed it.

"Sorry, what?"

"You got a million bucks? Are your parents that rich?"

Fudge.

"Um... no. My parents have an old friend who's rather rich and he... um... well, it doesn't make him happy."

Tucker didn't look convinced. "I doubt it hurts."

Danny frowned. "Actually, it kind of does. He thinks he can just buy anything he wants; buy his way into people's hearts. The sad thing is, usually he's _right_, but it can't win him the people he really wants and so he just comes off as super pushy and entitled and creepy and narcissistic, but I know he was a good guy once and... um..." he trailed off at Tucker's stunned look.

"You've never talked about this guy before."

Danny held back a wince. This was getting out of hand. "I... don't really like to talk about him," he muttered. "I mean, it's not like he's ever done anything to me, but he... just rubs me wrong, you know?" he sighed. "Maybe he's changed. I haven't met him in... a long time." Alright, he'd met the guy not four days ago, but he still felt that his point still stood.

They began walking home from the (now closed off due to the mess) street fair.

"I see why you don't like talking about him," Tucker commented, looking a little concerned.

Danny sent him a small smile. "Thanks."

"And he's rich? Like Sam's parents rich?"

The half-ghost shook his head. "He makes Sam's parents look like lower-middle class." Or lower class, even. Danny had always had a hard time wrapping his head around those numbers, even after putting them into as much real world context as he could.

Tucker's eyes went wide. "Wow."

"Yeah." And it was time for a topic change. "Anyway, wanna play some Doomed when we get to my place?"

Tucker's eyes narrowed for a moment, but then he shrugged. "Sure. But don't you have to go meet that ghost?"

Danny nodded. "Yeah, but you're important too. Today was supposed to be our day to hang out. I'll meet up with Desiree later. Might even take Jazz with me."

Tucker's face darkened. "What about me and Sam?"

"Oh," the half-ghost replied, a little surprised. "You guys want to come?"

"Well... probably not Sam. I doubt she'll get better by tonight."

Danny smiled. "Sure. I don't see why you can't come. Maybe we can hunt down some of the lower GEV scale ghosts and send them back to the Ghost Zone too." Because letting ghosts wander around was all well and good, if they followed the rules, but the lower ranked ghosts tended to not be able to understand rules _and_ being out in the world could potentially hurt them as well.

Tucker blinked. "GEV scale?"

Oh... right.

"Jazz and I came up with a scale for ghosts just to give us a basic idea of how to deal with them." He internally cringed at the lie. This really was getting to a point where it was too much. They'd be upset enough with him when they found out about the time travel. He wouldn't be able to put this off for much longer without some dire consequences.

He sighed internally and turned to the window. It had taken him years, but he could see and acknowledge the writing on the wall now. Danny would just have to bite the bullet and tell them...

Soon. He'd tell them soon.

He'd have to.

xXx

Tucker didn't know what to make of his best friend anymore.

Ever since he'd gone into that portal he'd been... different. Not necessarily in a bad way, but it was still worrying. The Danny that Tucker used to know didn't think things through. He'd rush into everything he had any investment in, completely committed and ready to do everything he could think of doing. Tucker suspected it was part of the reason why his best friend didn't apply himself to things like grades. He just didn't have the dedication to do everything he would otherwise be commited to do to get those good grades. Danny was an all-or-nothing kind of guy, and that was fine. It was the Danny Tucker had grown up with.

Then he'd become a ghost and it had somehow... matured him or something. Not that he didn't like his friend actually thinking things through and approaching everything with a plan (okay, not _everything_), but it just wasn't the friend he remembered. This Danny also seemed so much more confident and _secure_... like he'd already come to terms with who he was, which didn't make any sense at all. He'd heard enough psycho-babble from Jazz to know that people took time to adjust to major life changes, and Danny... hadn't. He'd just changed, accepted it, and moved on, and it blew Tucker's mind. How could anyone _die_ (okay, Danny had had issues with that, but it still wasn't as bad as it should have been), come back, find out you had super powers and then just accept that?

Something was fishy.

And when Danny had told him that there was something he was hiding from them, it had hurt... until he'd explained that he hadn't told them because he couldn't come to terms with it himself. After that it still hurt, but if this more mature Danny couldn't come to terms with it... Tucker shuddered. It had to be bad.

Tucker was slowly getting used to this new Danny, but it was an adjustment. And even as mature as his best friend was, he seemed to take things for granted that made no sense. Like how he somehow thought they'd be okay with him going into the ghost zone without backup. How was that a good idea? (Hence why he added on the 'not everything' condition to Danny thinking things through.) Or that Tucker and Sam could keep up with some of the terms he just threw out. Seriously, GEV scale? What the actual freak?

The longer they went on, the more little things Tucker and Sam both found different, and the more worried they got.

Tucker cared deeply for both of his friends, and he tended to share almost everything with Danny especially, but that had changed recently too. Oh, Danny still tended to be open to sharing things with them, but he also seemed more distant at the same time.

And that didn't even begin to get into Danny's ghost powers.

Okay, he had to die to get them (which was kind of freaky), but Tucker would be lying to himself if he didn't admit he was at least a little jealous of his best friend getting the ability to fly and go intangible and invisible... he already had half the X-men's powers covered right there! And how cool was that?! Of course, he had to live with people who wanted to tear him apart molecule by molecule...but surely it couldn't be that bad, right?

It just wasn't fair! Why did everything cool have to happen to Danny?

When he thought like this, Tucker knew he was being a little unreasonable. But, come on, _super powers_.

Still, he'd read all the comics and he knew it couldn't all be sunshine, daisies and medium-rare steaks. So he knew he'd do everything he could to support his friend. But the least said friend could do was let them know what was going on.

Tucker sighed as he followed Danny into his house and up to his room. He swore he heard Danny mutter, 'clunky desktop piece of junk,' before he turned said desktop on. Tucker frowned. Sure, it wasn't the newest model, but it was passable. Definitely not out of date.

Yeah, it was things like that that let Tucker know something was definitely up. And if Danny wouldn't tell them, he'd just have to figure it out on his own.

xXx

Surprisingly enough, the meeting that evening between team Phantom (minus Sam, who was thankfully at home recovering from the cold) and Desiree went rather well. The genie ghost had come up with several scenarios as examples as to when she could and couldn't grant a wish. Danny told her that if she started finding it too difficult to resist granting wishes, that she could take refuge in the Ghost Zone and they could negotiate on her having access to the portal. She'd seemed rather relieved at that and thanked him.

Danny gave it a couple of days before she got overwhelmed, but that was the kind of thing he knew she had to learn on her own.

As Jazz drove them home, Danny looked over to see Tucker looking very thoughtful and decided to make a little guess.

"So, would you really have wished for a million dollars?" Danny asked.

Tucker blinked. "Huh?"

"If you'd known about Desiree before she promised to follow the rules. What would you have wished for?"

The boy's dark eyes blinked at Danny for several seconds before he threw on a smile, probably not realizing the half-ghost could see right through it. "I'd probably ask for the latest tech... or maybe even tech from the future. That would have been epic."

Danny blinked at him, then smacked his forehead.

"You're right! We so should have done that!" the half-ghost muttered.

"See, you should listen to me before you go rushing into things."

Danny raised an eyebrow at his best friend and folded his arms as an amused smirk crossed his face. "So I should have just turned around and spoken to you, as a ghost, right out in public?"

"Maybe," Tucker returned, only half in jest. "If people at school knew I knew ghosts, then the jocks would leave me alone and girls would be all over me."

The blue-eyed boy's grin widened slyly. "You mean, they aren't already?"

Tucker scowled at him, then scoffed. "Their loss."

Danny couldn't help but laugh. That was just so... _Tucker_.

After a couple of seconds, he calmed down and shook his head. "No, really. What would you have wished for? I mean, if you're okay with telling me." Because he didn't want to be pushy. "I wouldn't judge. Not even if you wished for ghost powers or something."

Tucker's mirth faded away as he studied Danny. "That... would be kind of cool. I mean, if I could get them without dying."

Danny flinched. "Yeah. Well, they aren't all they're cracked up to be."

The techno-geek nodded solemnly. "Yeah, I bet."

"What about you, Jazz?" Danny asked.

Jazz didn't answer for several seconds, just continuing to drive through the back streets she seemed to prefer.

"I'd wish my little brother would stay safe when he confronted ghosts."

Danny couldn't help but feel touched.

"Thanks, Jazz," he said softly. From the back, he saw her cheek move into a smile as she nodded to him.

"But didn't that ghost say something about how all her wishes come with a price?"

Danny nodded. "Yeah. If you would have wished for ghost powers, you may have become a full ghost. She may have... you know, killed you to give them to you. Or maybe she could have given you ghost powers and it would have grown inside you until it took you over. Dealing with a sudden ghost core and an obsession that drives you isn't fun, and tipping that just a little could easily destabilize your mind or body... or both."

Tucker gulped, and Danny hoped he'd gotten his point across. Nothing comes for free.

Then the techno-geek tipped his head to one side and frowned. "How do you know that?"

"Know what?" Danny asked.

"That there has to be a balance of some kind and tipping it somehow can cause you to destabilize. I mean, you'd have to have met other half-ghosts to know that."

In the front seat, Jazz stiffened, but still didn't say anything.

"Clockwork told me," Danny said softly. It wasn't entirely untrue...

Apparently, his lie wasn't good enough because Tucker's frown turned into a scowl. A real one this time.

"Forget money and tech, I'd wish that you'd tell me what's really going on," he said heatedly, then turned around and folded his arms with a humph.

Danny couldn't help but blink in surprise at his friend. He'd know Tucker was a little jealous – both from past events and what he saw from his best friend now – but, he hadn't realized how upset his keeping his secret had made his friends.

Silence fell over the car and the half-ghost worried his lip as he thought about telling Tucker everything. It would get a huge weight off of his chest, and he really hated having his secret come between them.

So, finally, he took a deep breath and opened his mouth.

"Do you really want to know?" he asked quietly.

Tucker blinked and turned to him, still angry. Then his expression softened. "Nah, man. It's just... frustrating. Tell me when you're ready."

Danny rubbed his lips together before opening them and taking a breath. "I don't know if I'll ever be as ready as I want to be," he said with a sigh. "But I... I can talk. I'm probably as ready as I'll ever be... about everything," he finally said.

He saw Jazz's eyes widen in the rear-view mirror, but ignored that in order to see Tucker's reaction. The boy frowned, studying Danny warily.

"You sure, dude? I mean, it's only been a couple of days since we talked about it..."

No. "Yes. I hate having something in between us. I've never kept something from you guys before and honestly, it sucks."

Tucker still studied Danny, as if judging his sincerity.

"Alright," he said slowly – cautiously. "What's going on then?

Danny sighed and glanced up at Jazz again. She saw him look at her and nodded her head in encouragement.

He took another deep breath, then turned to Tucker. "I'm from the future."

Tucker blinked. "What?"

"About fifteen years in the future, I was saving a yeti child from this giant rift that appears randomly in the Ghost Zone and sucks everything around it inside. I saved the child, but got sucked inside the rift instead. Apparently, it killed my body, but my spirit – my memories – were sent back to just after I got my powers."

He waited for a response, but Tucker was just staring at him, eyes wide and jaw slack.

"Well?" Danny asked, a little warily.

"That kind of stuff _actually happens_?!" Tucker asked, voice a couple of notes higher than usual.

The half-ghost scratched the back of his head. "Well, not really. Time-travel usually doesn't work like this. Usually someone goes back in time in their current body. If they existed at the time the traveler goes back to, then there will be two of them running around. Does that make sense?"

Eyebrows still raised, Tucker slowly nodded his head. Then, as if in a trance, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his PDA. "Man... that option was way too far down on the list."

It was Danny's turn to balk. "Wait, what?"

Tucker shook his head and when he looked back at his best friend, his eyes were sharp and focused again, if a little wry.

"Danny, you got ghost powers. I wasn't discluding anything."

Okay, he sort of had a point. Of course, that did make Danny wonder.

"What did you think had happened?"

Tucker shrugged. "I had my money on you getting ghost memories you didn't know how to deal with. I don't know what Sam was thinking."

"Huh," Danny muttered. "That's... plausible."

"Of course it is," Tucker responded haughtily. "It's me."

Danny rolled his eyes, but he couldn't help a fond smile.

Of course, then Tucker had to ask the hard question. "Why did you keep this from us, dude?" he asked, softly, obviously hurt.

Danny winced and ignored the pulse from his core as best he could. He was getting better at that. "Well, I already explained that I didn't want to tell you and not tell Sam – which I will, as soon as she's better, I promise."

Tucker's frown deepened. "Why is telling Sam such a problem."

The time-traveler sighed. "We dated... for a long time, in the future. We broke up and... it's still painful. I knew I'd have to explain, but I had to be in the right headspace. I had to get over the fact that I have, for all intents and purposes, died... _twice_. I lost everything I had in the future – all of my relationships – friends, family, even enemies – along with everything political I've worked towards in helping the Ghost Zone and Earth move towards a lasting peace. Ghost rights, alliances, a decent political structure in the Ghost Zone to begin with... it's all gone and that..." he rubbed at his chest, hating the ache from his core _and_ his heart that lingered there, "I had to mourn that before I could really talk about it."

"But you told Jazz," Tucker said, his voice not quite accusing.

Danny shot him an unimpressed look. "Because I'm asking her to help me through it – as a counselor. I needed the kind of help she could give. Plus, telling her wouldn't tear you me and Sam apart."

Tucker looked troubled. "You... really didn't want to tell Sam."

Another sigh from the half-ghost. "No... I didn't. Still don't. But I'll have to at some point, and I'm in a position where it's actually viable, mentally. So, I need to stop avoiding it." He shrugged, hoping he looked more nonchalant than he felt.

"Did... did it end that badly?" the other boy's voice was soft, wary and he looked concerned.

Danny bit his lip, but shook his head. "No. That's... well, that's the problem."

Tucker looked confused. "That it didn't end? Or that it didn't end badly?"

This was getting harder. Of course, he knew it would, but that didn't really help. "That it didn't end badly." He slumped against the seat. "But it still had to end."

The other boy looked very confused. "I don't get it."

Danny felt his mouth widen into a wry grin that held no mirth. "Yeah, but I'm not explaining this until I have permission from Sam."

Tucker went silent for several seconds, eyes widening in recognition. Maybe he finally understood how hard this would be for Danny. Or, he was beginning to, at least.

"Alright, dude," he said, backing away. "So, when do you want to tell her?"

"As soon as I can. When she's not sick but hopefully before I am."

"Wait," Jazz said from the front, "you can get sick?"

Danny blinked. He hadn't told her that? "Um, now I can. Later on... not so much. I could probably catch a ghostly cold, but viruses and bacteria are kind of rare among ghosts."

"I can imagine," Jazz said.

"How do you know you're _gonna_ get sick?" Tucker asked.

Danny shrugged. "Well, my parents got sick last time, Sam got sick last time, then you and I got sick about the same time last time too. Don't see why it would be any different this time around."

"What about me?" Jazz asked.

"You were always studying in your room, so you weren't around us when we were sick. You didn't get it... you might this time though. Sorry."

The red head slumped a little. "Great."

They rode in silence after that for several seconds, until finally Tucker put a hand to his head. "Man, this is..." he faded off.

"Overwhelming?" Danny asked.

"Yeah."

"It gets easier," Jazz said sympathetically.

More silence as they turned into Tucker's neighborhood. Then Tucker suddenly perked up. "Wait, so this means you know what's going to happen in the future?"

Danny frowned. He'd thought that had been a given... and he wasn't sure he liked the look in his best friend's eye. "Yeah."

"Did you remember lottery numbers?"

The half-ghost groaned. "I told you, Tuck, a million dollars isn't all it's cracked up to be. And no, I didn't memorize any lottery numbers."

"Lotteries tend to go for way more than a million," Tucker grumbled as he rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Fine." Then he perked right back up. "What about future tech? Where does it all go, and how?"

Danny thought of his Tucker's smart phone in the future and grinned. "Okay, that I can answer."

"Not tonight, you can't," Jazz protested as she pulled up in front of Tucker's house. Then she turned around and fixed her brother's best friend with a glare. "And this also means you can't call and talk with him until three in the morning, you can't show up at our house earlier than 6:30 tomorrow morning, and you will not say anything around our parents."

Tucker looked like Christmas had been canceled. "But—"

Jazz shook her head. "No 'buts'. You both need sleep before school tomorrow. You'll have all day tomorrow to talk about it. Waiting twelve hours isn't going to hurt anyone."

"Anyone but me!" Tucker whined.

Danny couldn't help but snicker. "Hey, Tuck, why don't you go do some research tonight and figure out what you want to ask tomorrow."

His face lit up. "Oh, yeah! That's a good idea. Alright! See you tomorrow, dude!"

"And no texting either!" Jazz yelled after him.

"I can't," Tucker replied, looking a little annoyed. "My parents don't have the data on their plan."

Danny blinked. Oh, yeah... that used to be a thing. You could only purchase so many texts... how ridiculous was that? Somehow, he didn't think too many plans these days could handle the kind of data smart phones threw around in the future.

He shook his head at that and called after the other boy, "'Night, Tuck!"

"Goodnight!" he called back without so much as glancing at them over his shoulder.

Jazz sighed and glanced back at her little brother. "You realize you're in for the grilling of your life in the next couple of days.

Danny mimicked her sigh. "Yeah. I do."

xXx

'Grilling' was an understatement. Tucker, the master of being prepared (when he had the motivation, of course) came with two entire notebooks full of questions, one question per page, and a three-ring binder so he could put them into the proper order when Danny answered them.

Danny figured it was his turn to put up with constant questions after he'd left Sam to Tucker's mercy when he'd discovered her wealth. Of course, she wasn't there to witness it, but he'd long ago figured that no situation could really be 'perfect'.

His friend didn't stop asking questions for almost two days straight. Everything from how technology had changed (Danny couldn't even answer all of those questions, although he had some idea and did try) to what sports teams he should watch out for (those were far easier to remember) and what video games would come out (the easiest of all, because _games_). Tucker was thrilled to know that Kingdom Hearts II, scheduled to come out next year, would be a great game, but it would be over a decade before they'd get III. Halo, Star Craft and Doomed on the other hand... Needless to say, Tucker practically had stars in his eyes at the end of that conversation.

Then they got into talking about movies. It hadn't really hit Danny until now that the _Return of the King_ had only just come out the year before. _Kill Bill Vol 2, Shrek 2, i,robot_ and _Bourne Supremacy_ had come out earlier that year. _Resident Evil: Apocalypse_ had only come out a couple of days before (Tucker wanted to see it, Danny told him not to bother) and _Dead Teacher II_ was slated for the beginning of October, probably to avoid competing with _The Grudge_, which would come out the weekend before Halloween. He still found it a little strange that Tucker had looked up all the movies of that year to see who won the Oscars. He didn't even know Tucker was into Oscars. (He sure wasn't and couldn't really remember which actors and movies had won.)

The nostalgia hit him pretty hard during that discussion.

Danny was a little surprised to have Tucker ask about the Harry Potter movies. He'd kind of forgotten that _Prisoner of Azkaban_ had come out that summer and that the most recent book released was _Order of the Phoenix_.

"Wait... so you know how it all ends?" Tucker asked, almost in awe.

Danny had just blinked as he'd realized what he now knew that no one else did. Then he felt a very shark-like grin come across his face.

"Yup."

"What happens?"

At that, Danny shook his head. "Nope."

Tucker looked scandalized. "But... but Danny—"

The time-traveler shook his head again, harder this time. "Nope."

"You can't just leave me hanging like that!"

Danny cocked his head and studied his best friend. "Now I know how the Doctor felt."

Tucker's frown deepened. "Who?"

Wait... Seriously?

That had Danny rushing to the library to get onto the computers and internet. Turns out Doctor Who wouldn't even be released until March of the next year.

Danny had come into the series after High School, so he hadn't realized when it had come out. Turned out that Tucker had heard of the original show, but had never had the opportunity to see it. So, Danny supposed the series would have at least two new dedicated fans from the get go this time around.

His talks with Tucker actually did more to really ground him in what was going on _here and now_ than more or less anything else could. So he decided to look up a few more political issues, just to see where the world stood. No one really knew much about ISIS (or ISIL, as it was known as now), or at least they only really knew about it in reference to the group's support of al-Qaeda and Ossama Bin Laden.

Danny was pretty sure he didn't want to touch that whole thing with a twenty foot pole. Besides, he'd been a little focused on issues a little closer to home the first time around and didn't really have any concrete info that would help those issues – a fact he kind of regretted now. It certainly didn't make his core happy when he thought about all the lives he could potentially save if he could tip off the right person... but he honestly had no idea how to even try without leaving Amity Park for a lengthy amount of time, which wasn't really an option for him. He couldn't leave the town open to attack. That, and he kind of considered it his territory with his rules... his rather possessive (territorial) ghost side hadn't let him leave Amity for more than a few weeks at a time in the future. And even that was pushing it.

He made a mental note to study up on the whole political situation in case he ended up time-traveling like this again (although, somehow, he doubted it – and he'd _definitely _avoid it if at all possible). He wondered if he could ask Clockwork... or, more precisely, if Clockwork would tell him. He also wanted to know more about that strange rift. If it showed up in the same place at random times, it had to be worth studying (from a very far distance).

At that point, he realized he'd become far more like his parents than his 14-year-old self would have ever liked. Truthfully, he would have been mortified. Currently, Danny found it funny and a bit heartwarming.

All in all, as intense as Tucker tended to be, Danny found the experience the perspective it brought more amusing than anything else, even as the techno-geek took far more meticulous notes than he'd ever even think of taking in class.

His dread came back full force when Sam came back to school that Thursday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Firstly, not beta read because I haven't had time to go through those people who have offered because, Secondly, my manager of my webcomic and I have decided to enter a webcomic contest. For those of you who follow my webcomic Bittersweet... well, this is nothing like that. It's going to be a fantasy about someone learning to trust so they can start healing from childhood abuse. And we'll see if I can do that in 5 episodes. ^^; Wish me luck. I'll need it.
> 
> That brings me to my third point... this story is officially on Hiatus. :( I'm sorry, and I really REALLY appreciate every single person who has read this! I've gotten some great comments that I just haven't had time to answer! But I read and cherish every one of them! Now, I'd like to say I'll go to posting this once a month (I should be able to get a chapter posted once a month for the next four months, but it really depends on what goes on with the comic.
> 
> If you'd like to support my current comic, you can go to Webtoons, search for HACamp and it should come right up. :) Don't forget to rate it (honestly, please). Thank you!
> 
> Sorry for the bad news, but please, wish me luck. :) Four months and it'll be over one way or the other. Promise. :D


	20. Sam

On Friday, Danny noticed that people had begun to talk about weird things that had happened around Amity recently, or wishes that had come true. He paid close attention, in case any of them got really big, but mostly it seemed Desiree was doing a good job at sticking to his terms. He made a mental note to check up with her later that night. Or next weekend. He could check in a week. They'd have it off from school, and he was looking forward to the long break. Apparently, some of his teachers still had it out for him for spoiling their 'all meat buffet'. He wasn't giving them any room to take their frustration out on him, though. He made sure to take pictures of his homework assignments being turned in, then showing them said pictures with a smile if they gave him a hard time. He would also make sure he had witnesses when it came to turning projects in. Most teachers were still cool, but it was always one or two that could make a student's life miserable.

He still had the feeling he was forgetting something though. Something about this weekend...

His nose felt a little runny, so he sniffed. It didn't help much. He sighed. Yup, his chest felt tight and he could already feel the drain on his energy. The sensation was a bit nostalgic in and of itself, seeing as the dead couldn't really catch diseases. His parents had said it was something to do with charged ectoplasm not being compatible with most living tissue – it wasn't toxic in small doses, but then, neither was vinegar, and most micro-organisms didn't like that either. The half-ghosts were exceptions, not the rules, and once Danny's core stabilized, he hadn't gotten sick again. Well, not from human diseases. He'd eaten plenty of things that had made him nauseous though. Of course, he'd never tried his luck against something like Ebola... and he had no plans to do so.

With the rather morbidly amusing idea of his father begging him to try for science (he highly doubted even his dad would sink to such levels, as oblivious as he could be at times), he turned the corner that would lead to his locker, only to freeze.

Sam and a rather under-the-weather Tucker seemed to be talking as they waited for him by his locker. He'd known this would come, but... he wasn't ready. Then again, as he'd told Tucker, he doubted he'd ever be ready for this. Talking about it would rip his own wounds open, but he could handle that. It was the fact that this would hurt her far more than it would hurt him that got to him. He knew this wasn't fair to her. It never would be. But... he also had to tell her. Not telling her could likely hurt her just as much.

Basically, he was screwed, no matter what. Story of his life.

His core gave a throb and he gritted his teeth. Sometimes, protecting someone meant you had to tell it to them straight now, even if it hurt them, so they could just get over it and/or avoid nastiness in the future.

Didn't make what he knew was to come any easier.

Stupid heart.

Stupid ghost core.

"Come on, Fenton, man up," he said to himself, doing his best to ignore the ache in his chest. It had almost been two years since he broke up with Sam. He knew this ache. He could handle it. He took a deep breath, then walked over to the two of them, hoping his smile didn't look too forced.

"Hey, guys."

"Hey, man," Tucker said, his gleam somewhere between wary and manic. Probably wary because of Sam, but manic because he had yet _more_ questions to ask.

"Hi, Danny," Sam replied with her own smile. "Tucker said you had something to tell me?"

Danny shot Tucker a glare. The techno-geek just shrugged, and Danny couldn't bring himself to be truly upset. He happened to have a history of backing out of things he didn't like to confront.

"Yeah, I do, but it'll have to be after school. It's kind of a lengthy topic."

She blinked, then frowned. "Is everything okay?"

Danny tried to force his smile even wider. "Of course it is. Why wouldn't it be?"

Sam frowned. "You're worrying me, Danny."

Yeah, she'd been able to look right through him in the future too. Maybe he was just that bad at this.

"Well, it... it'll be a hard topic to discuss. I'm... ready to tell you everything."

Her eyes widened. "You mean, about why you've been acting so strange lately?"

Danny nodded, and couldn't keep in a sigh. "Yeah. But I can't explain it now. Not unless you want to skip first and second period."

Tucker held up his hands. "My parents would kill me."

Yeah, he doubted he wanted Tucker there for this... initially at least. So he looked to Sam.

"I'm still in trouble from the frog incident." She'd been caught smuggling the frogs out of the school just before she got sick and would likely be serving her detention during lunch as she'd been absent for the last couple of days. At least she'd gotten the frogs outside, so she considered it worth while.

"Okay, then. We can meet up after school. Sound good?"

Sam and Tucker nodded.

Of course, that's when the first bell rang. Danny couldn't help but feel relieved as they all silently agreed to hurry to class.

xXx

Sure enough, Sam wasn't there at lunch, which left Danny and Tucker to head to their usual outdoor table to talk.

"Tuck," he started as they sat down, "I... think I'll need to talk to Sam alone tonight." Again, better that he just come out and say it.

Tucker looked like he wanted to protest, but instead of voicing it, he studied Danny for several seconds, then nodded. "Right. Guess I should have seen that coming. I want the down low tomorrow, though."

Danny held up his hands. "Only if Sam agrees."

The techno-geek must have realized that was all he'd get, because he sighed. "Fine." Then his expression melted into concern. "Will... you two be okay."

The half-ghost felt his hands clench. "I... hope so, Tuck. I mean... I know it's better to talk things out. I'm usually much better than this. I learned a long time ago that putting things off just makes them harder to work out nine times out of ten. But... I just couldn't bring myself to talk about it. It... still hurts." But he really had put this off longer than he should have. He hadn't realized that falling into the past would have him falling into old habits as well. Honestly, he wasn't that surprised, but he couldn't help but be a little disappointed in himself for it.

Tucker's expression of worry only intensified. "You know I'm here for ya, man, right?"

Danny sent him a watery smile. "Yeah. Thanks, Tuck."

The other boy's expression didn't lighten. "I'll be here for Sam too, you know."

That... actually took a load off of Danny's chest. He nodded firmly. "Good. And... thanks for that too."

Finally Tucker's face relaxed a bit, and he sniffed, not crying, just sick. "Alright, man. Now, enough with the emotional junk. I have some more questions for you."

Danny let out a sigh of exasperation, but he really couldn't say he was anything but relieved.

xXx

He met Sam outside of school on the steps that led down from a side-door they liked to take, as it was closer to the Nasty Burger entrance. They weren't the only ones who had that idea, but it wasn't difficult to spot her in the crowd.

"Hey," he said casually as he met up with her.

"Hey," she replied, looking around. "Where's Tucker?"

"He's... not coming," Danny said nervously, and hating himself for it. He could act like an adult, darn it! He _could_.

"Why not?"

"Well," the time-traveler forced out, "I've already told him some of it, but... there's some things I won't tell him unless I've discussed it with you first. I would have told you both if you hadn't been sick," he added on hurriedly. "Promise. That's why I wanted to tell you today... and not when you're feeling really sh— er... crappy."

Sam frowned. "Danny, you can swear around me. It's not like I care, you know."

He sighed. "I do. I don't want to get into the habit and slip at home and freak out my parents any more than I already have."

She conceded the point with a nod of her head, but her frown never lifted. "Alright, where are we going?"

"Well, I was wondering if... maybe you wanted to go flying?"

Sam's eyes widened, and she glanced around to see if anyone else had heard, but they'd walked far away enough that he doubted it. He also doubted anyone would take his words seriously.

"I... um... that would be... nice," she said with a small blush. Danny almost kicked himself. Yeah, this was already turning out wonderfully. Still, he wasn't about to go back on his word, so they found a place surrounded by shrubs and trees, usually used by people wanting to make out (thankfully, it was empty) and Danny transformed.

"So... how do we go about this?" Sam asked.

"Well, I could carry you, or we could do a piggy-back thing, or I could put my arm around you..." he was just digging himself in deeper here, wasn't he.

"Um... let's just do the... um... arm thing," Sam said, now blushing hotly.

Danny sighed. "Sam, I'm sorry I'm such an idiot."

The girl blinked at him, confused.

"You'll understand when I explain."

"Oh," she said softly. "Um, okay then."

He put his arm around her waist, and she put her arm over his shoulder and maybe he should have thought this through. Stupid teenage hormones and lack of development in his brain that allowed him to make _rational_ decisions on the fly.

Not that he hadn't had days, or weeks, or over a month to think about this or anything.

He pushed such thoughts to the side and focused on flying. Maybe that would calm him down?

It did. A little. Not nearly enough, but he'd take what he could get right now.

He flew them in a round about way and ended at his house on top of the ops center.

"You sure your parents won't find us up here?" she asked as they touched down.

"Highly unlikely," Danny said with a smile. "I know they don't have cameras up here and their ghost detectors are all manual and hand-held."

Sam still looked a little wary. "Okay," she said slowly.

"If they do decide to head up here," he walked towards the door and detransformed. "Then they'll just see their son."

"Okay," Sam said more surely as she sat down. "So, what's going on?"

Danny sighed. She never had been one to beat around the bush. So he took a deep breath and blurted it out. "I'm from the future."

Sam's eyes widened. "Wait, what?"

And so he explained how he'd come back in time, how he couldn't go back, and everything Clockwork had told him. When he finished, Sam was just staring at him, knees up to her chest, but expression focused and curious, wind blowing around them and bringing in the slight taste of wet freshness from the lakes and nearby river.

"Why didn't you tell us before?" Sam asked softly, sounding a little hurt herself. Not as bad as Tucker, but that didn't mean she wasn't just as confused or upset.

So Danny explained that he hadn't known he'd actually _died_ in his other life, and he'd only really found out after he had more or less died a second time and ended up in this younger body, that he needed to come to terms with that.

"Yeah," Sam said with a sigh, "you told us that before. But... there's something else, isn't there."

And there was the kicker.

Danny felt his stomach clench and the normal throb that came from his core when he saw his friends and family hurt suddenly stabbed through him sharply. It still wasn't bad, but it was indicative of what would come. He grit his teeth.

"Yeah. That's... what I wanted to talk to you about."

Sam blinked, frowning.

Danny swallowed. "Let me start from the beginning.

"Initially, the first time around, only you and Tuck knew – about me, I mean. Jazz found out a little later, but didn't tell me she knew for almost a year. A... lot of things happened. I gained a reputation, it changed, it changed again. I more or less ran into every situation with my fists swinging and was half convinced that mom and dad were right about all ghosts being evil."

"When did that change?" Sam asked curiously.

Danny's smile turned a little sardonic. "When I met Clockwork."

Well, when he'd met Cujo and Wulf, but even then they'd been destructive, if not maliciously so. He'd initially thought their better nature had something to do with their animalistic qualities. Of course, there had been the Dairy King, but Danny had kind of compared him to Vlad at the time, or thought there might be a rivalry of some kind. His parent’s thinking really had tainted him. Pointdexter hadn’t been malicious so much as righteously furious, and he had no idea if Freakshow’s ghosts had been malicious one way or the other... and then he'd met Clockwork, who had actively helped him. He’d really been the brick to break the camel’s back and force Danny to see that not all ghosts were evil. 

For a moment, the half-ghost thought about explaining that, but decided against it. He didn't want to get caught up on semantics.

So he explained everything that had to do with his (former?) future evil self, and explained why he trusted time ghost.

"So he saved your family?" Sam asked.

"And you and Tuck. Even Mr. Lancer."

"Wow."

"After that, he became responsible for me. Any harm I did to the timeline would be on him in the eyes of some very prominent members of the Ghost Zone. It didn't even phase him. He just decided to casually become a mentor and... a good friend. Even if a several-thousand-year-old ghost has to dumb himself down quite a bit before I comprehend anything he talks about and speaking to him is _beyond _frustrating with how cryptic he likes to be.

"In any case, after that was when I began to realize that we just didn't _understand _ghosts."

"I'm still not seeing why you couldn't say this in front of Tucker," Sam commented, although she didn't look upset, just worried (and waiting for the other shoe to drop). He heartily agreed with the sentiment.

"I'll get there," he said with a sad smile. "You see, after that more stuff happened, bigger and badder ghosts came to Amity, either to test their metal or to try and erase the 'younger abomination', aka hybrid."

Sam's eyebrows raised. "How many hybrids are there?"

The sardonic, of nostalgic smile had returned. "In my previous life, three. Right now, just two. And... I'll tell you more about the others later, k? Getting distracted right now is... probably not a good idea."

The goth had opened her mouth to ask, but she closed it quickly when he said that and nodded.

"Alright, so?"

"There was an... altercation with one of the other half-ghosts. An asteroid was heading to Earth at... unprecedented speeds. We're talking near light-speed. Although at times it would slow down and act like a normal asteroid.

"I'm still not convinced that it wasn't intentionally sent our way by someone, but nothing else happened in regards to space in the years after this incident, so no substantiation for my theory. In any case, I had to get all of the ghosts together to turn the world and everyone on it intangible so the asteroid would pass right through us. I couldn't phase the meteorite intangible because it was made of ectoranium – a metal charged with ectoplasmic energy. We tried." Well, Vlad had.

Sam's eyebrows had approached her hairline by this point. "Did it work? Turning the world intangible?"

Danny smiled. "Well, I'm here, I'm well adjusted and obviously not from some post-apocalyptic future, so yeah, it worked. Surprisingly." Sam rolled her eyes as her companion continued. "We cut it pretty close, but hey. And because I saved the world, and everyone seemed to see me in a much better light by that point, I revealed my identity. Thus, Danny Fenton became an overnight celebrity. And if that life change wasn't enough, I'd finally gained enough courage to ask the girl I liked to go steady with me."

Sam blinked at Danny's pointed look. Then she blushed, her eyes lighting up with realization before she looked away.

"Oh."

Danny hoped she didn't see as much pain in his smile as he felt. His core throbbed again. He mentally told it to shut up.

"I'd dated a couple of other girls by that point, but I'd never been in a relationship. Almost, at one point, but she broke it off before it could even get started. Besides, I'd had feelings for you for... well, a while by that point.

"It was great, though. We dated throughout high school and I even asked you to marry me. You said to ask you after we'd graduated from college."

Sam's smile looked a little weak, whether that was from the shock of it all or having to confront emotions she may not be ready to confront, he didn't know, but she didn't interrupt him, so there was that.

"You went to Berkeley and majored in environmental studies but I... well... no, let me give you some more context.

"Ghosts all have a core. It's kind of like a heart and a brain and a spirit all combined into one, but... so much more than that too. It's the essence of their very being." He sniffed, and thought that maybe bringing her up here just as he was coming down with a cold wasn't the best idea. Ah, well. He wasn't about to stop now. He wouldn't let it distract him, either. He'd deal.

"Yes, I have a core," he said, answering her unspoken question. He tapped his chest, right above the point where it ached, which was just behind his sternum, actually. Core locations tended to differ from ghost to ghost. Danny's wasn't right over his heart, but it was close, and he'd always thought there was something to that.

"The thing about cores," he continued, "is that they don't exist without... well, a reason. A motivation, if you will. Thus every ghost has an obsession – something that keeps them on this plane of existence (or at least somewhat able to interact with this plane of existence) instead of moving on like most spirits do.

"Care to guess my obsession?"

Sam, who had sat, enraptured, up until that point cocked her head to one side. "Your friends and family?" she asked.

Danny grinned. "Close – very close. It's _protecting_ them. I have this hero complex the size of the moon because I _have_ to protect. It's just part of who I am. And Amity Park is my home. I think of it as the place I was raised, but my ghost side sees it as my lair or haunt – one of the few places I truly belong. And I have to protect it too. The fact that my family and friends are more often here than not helps. But... I can't physically stay away from Amity – not for long periods of time. We're talking days or weeks at the longest. Any more than that, and my worry about it being safe and, well, still _mine _builds to a point where I risk a psychotic break and damage to my core – which, by the way, is _very _hard to heal.

"Also, as you may have guessed, ghosts tend to be rather territorial. More powerful ghosts can let other ghosts live in our lairs and haunts, but only if its under our rules. The idea of another ghost honing in on my turf... well, it doesn't sit well with me." Even now, just at the very idea, he felt an urge to let all ghosts know that this was _his_ land and _his_ rules. Yeah, that had taken a long time and some therapy with Jazz as well as a lot of in-depth conversations with Frostbite and Clockwork explaining that how he felt was perfectly normal for a ghost before he could actually admit it aloud. He'd also had to realize that it didn't make him any less human, because humans had obsessions and triggers too. Ghosts just had super powers to back them up.

"Even now, I still can't stomach the thought of leaving permanently," he admitted quietly, rubbing at his chest absentmindedly.

"So... you didn't go to college?" Sam asked, looking unsure.

"Oh, I went to school, I just found a local college for my associates and then started taking university courses online. The university was fairly near by and so I could fly to the campus for a couple of hours if I had to take lab on campus, and they were happy to work with me. By then I was doing full-time ghost hunting and had already started to get some of the ghosts I hadn't alienated to work together to form a government for the area of the Ghost Zone just on the other side of the portal. You and Tuck helped me all through high school, even though Tucker had a political job—"

"Whoa, wait... Tucker? _Political?_"

Danny grinned. "I know, right? He was actually pretty decent at it, but I'm pretty sure he only got the job because A. it needed to be filled ASAP and B. he knew me – the hero of the world." He shook his head fondly. "I honestly think his true love will always lie with technology, though."

He found it funny that that, of all things, made Sam balk. Not his time-traveling, not his ghost-hunting, not even them dating, but Tucker in a political job. He could understand where she was coming from, though. Tucker wasn't exactly the most tactful person. Of course, that was part of the reason why he'd made a somewhat decent mayor. For his age, of course. He'd screwed up more than once at the beginning. But he'd also never given up and was a good part of the reason why ecto rights came into existence in the first place.

Danny had always felt a little guilty because he was sure Tucker hadn't just resigned purely because as Mayor, he could speak up for his best friend. It had been the nicest thing Tucker had ever done for him and that wasn't a low-set bar.

"Anyway," the half ghost continued, dragging himself back to the present, "we still dated on and off throughout college. I mean, you came home whenever you could, and we usually made it work. We broke it off a couple of times to try and date other people, but it never really stuck for either of us and we ended up getting back together again. The distance still strained the relationship, though.

"Then we graduated, and... well, honestly, I don't know what I was expecting, but it didn't happen. You got an internship with a renown science group who traveled all over the world and set up studies of the environment. You were so happy and I just wanted to support you. That's what friends and boyfriends do, right? And honestly, I _was _happy for you. Knowing you were doing what you love to do made _me_ happy. You were changing the world and making a difference, a little at a time, and I could tell from every word that you adored it.

"But," Danny paused and licked his lips. "I guess it was about then that I realized you weren't coming back."

They sat there in silence for what felt like forever, staring out at the autumn evening.

"I didn't admit it, of course," the time-traveler said, rubbing at his chest and sniffing again. "Not even to myself. I knew you didn't _hate_ Amity Park... but I also knew – well, I guess I've always known – that you needed your space to grow, and you'd never have that here. Not with your parents."

Sam's eyes shone and she looked away, arms hugging her knees even tighter.

"I know you love them, even if you don't agree with them, and I know they love you, even if they have a hard time really showing it. But I think everyone – especially us – knew from the get go what you'd be giving up if you stayed here. Even if you lived just outside of town or a couple of hours away... it still wouldn't be enough. And I couldn't let you do that."

Danny sighed, rubbing at the back of his neck as he stared out into the clear air of the city. He'd always loved sitting up here. One reason why he'd decided to bring Sam here to talk.

"I did everything I could think of to keep the relationship alive, making sure my schedule revolved around your visits, even to the point of skipping classes when you came back." He snorted. "I'd even let Skulker know that our time was _not_ the time to come and fight me, and we worked something out so he'd leave me alone when I needed him to.

"But, eventually, we both realized that... it just wouldn't work."

He felt his throat catch at the end of that and he had to work to keep in a sob. "It hurt, Sam. It hurt so much because I love you."

"No," Sam said, her own voice sounding wobbly. Danny blinked and looked over at her, a little hurt, but she shook her head. "You loved her. I'm not that girl you loved, Danny."

The problem? She was. In so many ways, she was. But he knew that telling her that wouldn't help either one of them, so he kept it to himself and just nodded instead. She did have a point that she and her future self weren't the same. It was a lesson he'd had to learn a couple of times since coming back to the past already.

Sam sniffed and shivered a bit. It was getting kind of late. Maybe they should go inside? Hm... maybe in a minute. He didn't really want to move right now, and he doubted Sam did either.

"Anyway," Danny said, clearing his throat. It almost turned into a cough, but he staved it off. "We talked about it and realized that once we cut it off then, we'd be cutting it off for good. But both of us wanted to keep this friendship, and both of us knew it wouldn't be easy. We made a promise that we would work through it and build a new relationship, no matter what. It wasn't easy to suddenly find a new dynamic that didn't include stolen kisses or weekend visits, but we worked hard at it."

He chuckled a little, and if it sound unsteady and wet, Sam didn't comment on it. "I think we just sort of stubbornly plowed our way through the awkwardness that is a post break-up."

Sam smiled weakly. "That sounds like us."

Danny returned her smile. "Yeah. But we refused to give up. And, after a while, it worked. We were just getting over everything and reaching a point where it all felt natural and whole again when I went through the rift."

The girl winced and looked away.

"And then... me."

She didn't say it with self-recrimination, but with far more understanding than Danny felt he deserved. She always had been so mature for her age. Why had she ever liked him again?

"The problem is, now you don't remember any of that," the half ghost said softly, hugging his own legs and resting his chin on his knees. "And part of me wants to start all over again, but I _know_ that isn't fair to you. Plus, I know where it goes and another part of me doesn't want to go through that again. I'm not entirely sure I _can_ go through something like that and come out remotely sane. Just talking about this is sending my core into fits."

Sam looked alarmed. "Does it hurt?" she asked.

He considered not answering or lying, but was pretty sure he'd just offend her if he tried, so he nodded, resigned. "Yeah, it does. It's like someone is physically ripping my heart out of my chest over and over again. Fortunately, it isn't as bad as when we broke up. But... I'm _hurting_ you. Just by being here, I've taken those experiences away from you. All this baggage I have... Like I said, it isn't _fair_ to you, and that kills me. Especially when I know we were _happy_ together."

"Just... not happy enough," Sam said softly.

Danny sighed. "I suppose not." That's not how it had felt, though.

They continued to sit in silence as the evening grew cooler. It wasn't even sunset yet, but it was October and getting darker much earlier. They still had a couple of hours, though.

"I think the hardest part is that I know we could be happy again," Danny muttered. "Even with my mental age difference... I really have no doubt."

"But," Sam muttered, not looking at him, but staring out to the town, "that's part of why you wouldn't be able to go through it again. Giving that up again..."

And that right there – that insight and understanding – that was why he'd loved her. Well, one of the many reasons.

He actually hissed at the pang of pain that shot through him.

"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

He nodded tiredly. "I'll live. It'll dull."

She studied him for several seconds before speaking. "This ghost thing really did change you, didn't it."

Danny glanced over at her, a little wary, but didn't answer.

"I mean, not who you are – that's still the Danny I've always known – but physically. You're different now, in and above the powers."

"I'm still human," he said, a little defensively.

"Yeah," she said, nodding, "but you're more than that too."

His defensiveness evaporated and he slumped a little. "Yeah, I am."

He looked away as they fell into silence again, and then he felt arms wrap around his shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Danny," she whispered into his ear. "I'm so sorry it didn't work out."

"It isn't your fault," he said, and it was getting harder to fight back the tears. Sam wasn't even bothering. He could feel the wet drops on his shoulder. "It wasn't even her fault. It just... was. Sometimes love really isn't enough."

She laughed, a harsh, forced little thing as she sat back. He felt kind of empty without her there. He always did.

"I'm not sure what to be sad about, here – the fact that my best friend has a decade and a half of memories I'll never be able to share with him, or the fact that I was in a relationship that I didn't even know I wanted and will now never get to have."

Danny let out a sob himself, and tried to turn it into a laugh as well. "How about both?"

She smiled at him, with tears streaming down her cheeks – just like she had on that day over a year and a half ago in his memories. "Yeah, both."

After a moment, she rose to her feet and brushed herself off.

"Um, can you take me home now? I... think I need some time to think about this."

"Yeah," Danny said, standing himself and heading back towards the center of the ops center where fewer people could see him, and transformed. Then he went over and, even more hesitantly than before, put his hand around her waist. She put her arm over his shoulder and then he hopped off and into the late afternoon, flying directly to her house.

Once he dropped her off in a little, out-of-the way grove a couple of houses down from hers, he decided to say one more thing.

"Hey, Sam... thanks. For listening. For understanding. For... well, everything. If you decide that not being around me is better for you, then I understand."

She just stared at him, shaking her head as more tears streamed down her cheeks. "Yeah, you would, you self-sacrificing jerk."

He found himself able to smile – small but real – as she gave him one more hug, then a kiss on the cheek – soft and sad, as if to say goodbye – before she turned and walked away.

"Goodnight, Danny."

He just sat there for several seconds as she continued down the sidewalk.

"Goodbye, Sam."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Yeah, I've had this written down almost from the beginning. It's part of what drove this story into existence. Now I hope people will understand why this won't be - can't be - a DannyxSam fic. Sometimes love just isn't enough.
> 
> Update: The comic is coming along I'll let people know when the first episode is up. It's slow, but there. I've had to redo the storyline only a dozen times, of course. *table flip* But I do want to take time to find a beta reader by the time I post the next chapter next month.
> 
> In any case, let me know what you think!


	21. The More Things Change...

Danny woke up full-on sick the next morning and ended up calling Tuck. After informing his parents, he wound up at his friend's house, utterly miserable in more ways than one (at least they were miserable together). He'd forgotten just how awful colds were. Thank goodness he didn't have to put up with it in the future.

Both of them missed school on Monday, though Tuesday saw them back. They met up with Sam before class, but it was... awkward at best. Tucker was the biggest help to both of them, though, constantly nattering on about this, that, or the other and providing constant distractions. He'd even gone through and made copies of his notes on the future for Sam and handed her a second three-ringed binder on Wednesday. She had, of course, thanked him and had come to school with her own notebook and a wicked grin almost splitting her face on Thursday.

And here he'd thought Tucker would be the worst. Nope. Unfortunately, he couldn't answer Sam's questions very well as a lot of them had to do with politics and the protests she liked to participate in. He knew a couple of them had been successful, but it had been her thing, and while he'd supported her, he hadn't memorized everything that had happened.

She still seemed grateful for what he did remember, though, and that, more than anything else, helped him feel better about the whole situation.

Friday was a day off of school due to some teacher's conference or something, so he was looking forward to a long weekend now that he felt better, and was making plans to find Desiree and check up with some of his other ghost friends. Unfortunately, he ran across Vlad's three vultures that night.

He almost banged his head on the nearest wall. Purposefully and repeatedly. How could he have forgotten it was _that _weekend? Just when he was getting his emotional equilibrium back... For the first time since coming back, he wanted to approach intelligent ghosts by sucking them into his thermos and just being done with it. Maybe he wouldn't even let them go just to send a message to Vlad.

Then he sighed, knowing very well he could never do that.

"Don't you three work for Plasmius?" he asked, flying up to them.

They squawked and one almost fell out of the sky. They really were too old.

"There he is! Get him!" One of the birds yelled and dove for him.

Danny frowned. They hadn't acted like this last time. He easily dodged them, but he'd been hoping that he wouldn't have to.

Well, maybe he could get out some of his frustration?

"Fine," he said with a grin that may or may not have been a little vindictive, "have it your way."

It took him maybe two minutes to get them rounded up, holding them up by their feet as they recovered from the punches he'd dealt. He hadn't figured he'd be able to do it that quickly with his diminished powers. Amazing what knowing the ghosts you were fighting could do for the length of a fight. Especially if they didn't know much about him.

"Alright," he said with a too-happy smile. "This is my territory, I let Plasmius know, and now I have all rights to completely beat the stuffing out of you."

The birds all exchanged glances and began struggling to get away. Danny squeezed their legs harder, making sure not to do any actual damage, and making sure to give off a small ecto charge that would stop them from changing forms (from legs to tails) and getting out of his grasp. He really wished he'd known that little trick the first time around.

"The sad thing," he continued, with that same expression on his face, "is that I would have been happy to discuss things like normal sapients if you would have just spoken with me, ghost to ghost. Too bad for you. So, now that you've gone and ticked me off, I'd start talking."

"Ve aren't saying anything!" one of the buzzards said.

Danny's smile widened. "Really? That's too bad, because this has got to be worth at least a week in solitary confinement."

More squawks and struggling. Danny, whose grip had loosened, tightened his fists again.

"What was that?" he asked in a light tone.

"Fine! Fine!" One of the birds said frantically. "Ve vere supposed to come to this town, find and then peck to death this guy here."

He held out a familiar torn corner of a picture with his father's face on it.

"Ah, see? I can't let that happen," Danny said, almost regretfully. Almost. "This town is my haunt, under my rules, and I will protect it and anyone living here. So, the way I see it, you have two options:

"One, I let you go and you fly back to Plasmius and tell him that I stopped you and will continue to stop you. Also, if he keeps this up, it will mean war, and I won't hold back. I'd _really_ like to avoid that, as I'm guessing he will if he's as smart as I thought. Two, you continue to fight and struggle and I put you in solitary. What'll it be?"

"Very vell! Ve vill leave!" the third buzzard said, voice panicked.

"Good choice," Danny said, releasing the birds. "If you come here to attack anyone again, it will mean time in my thermos. Cumulative hours and days. Hours for minor infringements that don't put peoples' lives in danger. Days if you come with the intent to hurt. I will respond to lethal force with the same. Do you understand?"

All three of the ghosts nodded quickly.

"Great! I'm glad we could come to such a civilized understanding, even if it didn't start out that way."

"Ve're sorry!" the largest vulture said.

"Ve'll leave, now!" the one with puffs of white hair (feathers?) agreed.

"Good. Have a nice flight back to Plasmius!"

With that, the ghosts took off, leaving the half-ghost behind them. Danny's smile fell as he watched them go.

Of course, at that point, he heard the clock strike ten and had to sigh. For a couple of seconds he day-dreamed about going back to his own time where his parents would be understanding and he wouldn't have to deal with Vlad.

Then he remembered that he was going to prevent some of those things that brought about that future from happening. Right.

Well, time to face the music.

xXx

His parents weren't as angry as he remembered when he came home a couple of minutes late that night. It wasn't the first time it had happened this time around, and it certainly wouldn't be the last, but he'd managed to keep things together much better than Before.

"We've noticed that this is becoming a habit, Danny. Do you know how worried we get when we don't know where you are?"

And that was it. No mention of his grades or chores. Huh. Well, it seemed he was doing something right.

"It was just a couple of minutes," he pointed out.

"This time. What about last Tuesday? This isn't the first time you've been late. Tuesday wasn't the first time either. Ever since you were un-grounded, it's hit-or-miss as to whether you'll actually get home before kerfew. And after we got a call from your school complaining about absences... Danny, this is becoming a problem."

The half-ghost bit his lip. Now would be a good time to segue into telling them...

But, no. He needed them to at least question their biases first.

"Maybe it's a ghost coming after you again!" From his father, tinkering on one of their inventions in the living room.

Speaking of biases.

Danny rolled his eyes. "Oh, for... I'm _not_ being influenced by a ghost!" As he spoke, he reached down and grabbed the belt he was wearing that they would take as a Specter Deflector. "Maybe you just don't understand everything in my life right now." He said it calmly, ignoring the de ja vous it brought up. It was something his teenaged self would say (had said, multiple times). Unfortunately, he couldn't help the edge that sneaked into his voice as he said it. Why was it so much harder to control his teen-aged body? _Why_?!

His mother sighed. "Every teenager says that, Danny. It's the oldest excuse in the book. If it isn't a ghost, then there isn't anything you're going through that we didn't go through when we were your age."

Well, she wasn't entirely wrong. Danny rubbed at his chest where he could feel his core thrumming.

Jazz, who was listening in as she read her latest psychology book, shot Danny a sympathetic smile, then winked at him.

Then she stood up.

"The reason Danny doesn't think you can relate to him is that you never take the time to tell him about your childhood," she said in a smugly superior tone. Well, he couldn't expect her to just change everything about herself overnight.

"Jazz," he started, but she went on.

"Have you ever told him how you met? About your first date?" She must have been reading the same book she'd been reading last time, because as far as he knew, she'd said something very similar last time.

His father walked over to stand by his mother, both looking thoughtful.

"Where you went to college?" his sister continued. If she was trying to distract them this time (highly likely), she _really_ needed to work on her technique.

Danny just sighed. At least he wouldn't have to manufacture something to get his parents to take him to their reunion. And no sooner had he thought of it, than his father spoke up.

"You know, Jasmine, that's a great idea!"

Jazz blinked, surprised. "It is?"

His mom looked just as confused. "What is?"

Jack grinned and held out an invitation for the University of Wisconsin college reunion party. "This is!"

"Oh," Maddie said in realization.

Danny watched as his father put an arm around his mother's shoulder. "You can come with your mother and I to our college reunion!"

The half-ghost stifled a groan. Just because he knew he'd have to go didn't mean he wanted to. "There's no way for us to get out of this, is there?" he asked sardonically.

"Not really, no," his father replied, a huge grin on his face.

Jazz looked horrified. "Wait... Wisconsin?!"

Jack grinned even wider somehow. "Why not? My old pal, Vlad, is throwing a huge shindig there. We'll take the RV so the whole family can go together. You can learn more about your mother's and my college days, and while we drive," He leaned down, obviously having no sense of personal space as he grinned at his daughter, "_I_ can blather on about ghosts!"

Of course, right then, the invention his father had been working on set of a ding and shook for a moment. The hose attached to it, an ugly, gray thing, began to shudder, suddenly shooting green goo around the room. Danny managed to duck, but Jazz didn't. She looked torn between rushing up to the shower and glaring homicide at her parents.

"Ha! It works," Jack said, raising his fist in triumph. "I can't wait to blather on about that, too!"

Danny couldn't help but smile at the de ja vous. He may have wished his parents would address some things, but there were others he hoped never changed. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same in some cases.

Though he was still frustrated to lose the long weekend to this.

xXx

Danny told Jazz all about Vlad that night. He started by describing the man the world knew – Affluence Magazine's billionaire of the year, one of the richest men in the world and a very good business man. Then he went on to tell her in far more detail than he had before about how the older man was the only other half-ghost in the world, his obsession with their mother and how he was convinced that all the pain he'd gone through was their father's fault.

Needless to say, Jazz was more than a little shocked.

The half-ghost also wanted her word that she wouldn't do anything reckless. Of course, she'd just glared at him as he'd said that, but she wasn't the one with ghost powers. He managed to extract a promise from her that she would stay out of Vlad's way and would wear an actual Specter Deflector the entire time they were there. She wasn't happy about it, but she agreed.

The next morning they finished packing and went on their way up to Wisconsin. They were able to avoid mishaps until Jazz wanted to open one of the windows and pressed the wrong button. Danny was able to mostly dodge. Jazz, again... wasn't.

"How is this my life?" she asked as she put her goo-covered head in her hands.

Danny patted her on the back and handed her a towel.

xXx

They stayed in the RV that night... the one that, if Danny wasn't careful, could easily oust him as a half-ghost. Fortunately it also had a fair amount of room... well, if one didn't count his father's bulk, but Danny managed to get a decent amount of sleep. He did fall through the bed once that night, but fortunately any alarms were focused outside and not inside. He just grumbled and got back onto the bed with only Jazz opening her eyes to see him. He just shot her a thumbs up before getting back to sleep.

The next day they got back on the road, and a couple of hours later, pulled up to the giant castle/palace that looked somehow even gaudier than in Danny's memories. The time-traveler just shook his head with a sigh. Even Ember couldn't live up to Vlad's pretentious, diva-like attitude.

Walking into the mansion and seeing everything covered in green and gold Packer's paraphernalia made it even worse. And Vlad was obviously giving Jack the cold shoulder. Had Danny missed that before? How Vlad had even slammed the door in his father's face after letting everyone else in? Maybe they'd been too stunned by the interior decorating (or lack thereof)?

Danny bit his lip and went to open the door.

"Hey, Dad..." he started, only to have his father rush by him and go to tackle the other half ghost. Danny got his foot out just in time. Better to have his father humiliated by tripping and falling face-first than by running into the bitter half-ghost who would kill him as soon as look at him.

"Sorry, Dad," he said, hearing his mother and sister exclaim in the background as he leaned down to help the larger man up. "But you told us last night that Vlad might still be mad at you. Tackling him may not be the best idea right now."

"Oh..." his father said, looking stunned. Then he nodded firmly. "Right you are, Danno. I'll apologize first."

"Dad, wait—" Danny started again, but just stopped and facepalmed again when his father made another bee-line for Vlad Masters, who was showing Jazz his signed Ray Nitschke football, obviously having dismissed the larger man's trip. Danny sighed as Jazz tried and failed miserably to not look nervous.

"So the Green Bay Packers won't let you buy them?" Jazz asked, sounding a little incredulous (whether that was at Vlad's audacity or at the circumstances in general, Danny didn't know).

"No," Vlad said, an edge to his voice that Danny did not like. He watched closely as the other half-ghost set the football back in its case. "It's one of..." he paused and looked directly at Maddie, "two things my money has, as of yet, been unable to acquire."

"Right in front of Dad?" Jazz hissed to Danny angrily as he came up beside her. Well, that was certainly different from her previous indifference.

The younger half-ghost just shrugged. "That's Vlad for you."

"Why are you trying to help this guy again, Danny?"

Danny frowned. "Deep space, Jazz. I don't know if you understand how big and terrifying even our solar system is. No one deserves that."

Before Jazz could respond, their father squared his shoulders and then held out his hand to Vlad.

"V-man. I... wanted to say I was sorry for what happened all those years ago. I tried to come and visit you – several times – but they wouldn't let me. Then you said you didn't want me to... and so I... left. But I've always felt terrible for what happened."

To Danny's amusement, Vlad looked gobsmacked.

It didn't take him long to recover, but when he did, he gave Jack the most honest expression Danny had ever seen. He hadn't known Vlad was capable of making that expression. Go figure.

"You ruined my life, Jack. All it would have taken was one word – one warning – and I would have gotten out of the way."

"It wasn't supposed to do that."

"That is what safety wear is for," Maddie pointed out. "I think that all of us should have been a little more vigilant when it came to that. But what Jack is trying to say, Vlad, is that we're both sorry. We all had some culpability when it came to your ecto-acne. We're just sorry you had to pay the price for it."

Vlad looked a little more unhinged, but once again, recovered quickly, smoothing down his Armani suit.

"Yes. Well, it gave me time to chart out a course for my life, didn't it? Make some decisions that helped to make me very wealthy, very quickly. And it never would have happened without you, Jack."

Danny actually had to hold Jazz back from going over to give Vlad a piece of her mind. "You promised," he reminded her quietly. She shot him a glare, but otherwise backed down.

Fortunately, his mother spoke up, looking uncomfortable. "Yeah... maybe we should go."

"No, no, you should stay with me!" the older half-ghost said as he got up to put his arm around Jack. "That's the whole reason I'm throwing the reunion here in my castle – previously home to the legendary Wisconsin Dairy King." He gestured up to a very large portrait that they'd all somehow missed a midst the gaudy green and gold. "Just so I could... reconnect with you, Jack. I insist you stay."

"Wait," Jazz spoke up.

"Jazz," Danny hissed out of the side of his mouth and hoping he didn't look too tense.

She ignored him, walking forward to stand in front of Mr. Masters, who looked rather surprised.

"With all due respect, Mr. Masters, you just said that my father ruined your life. You obviously blame him and you..." she faded off, glancing at their mother, who shifted uncomfortably. She probably didn't want to say it aloud as it would hurt their father. He was like a giant three-year-old sometimes, and hurting him at all felt like kicking a puppy. In the future, Jazz would be long over that, but here and now, Danny really couldn't blame her. "And then you ask us to stay – insist even?"

Danny was half a second away from transforming and just getting her out of there. He did _not_ like her proximity to Vlad, who was recovering from his surprise. His expression melted into a thoughtful one.

"You take after your mother, don't you?"

Danny saw Jazz grit her teeth and was surprised when he found himself doing the same. It had been years since a little comment like that got to him... Oh, right. Puberty. Bah. Protective of his father, his sister, his mother, all in different ways, on top of being fourteen again. In some ways, this seriously sucked.

"Come on, kids," Maddie said. "Jack."

"You know, the Dairy King's spirit has been known to haunt these very halls," Vlad called after them, sounding a little desperate. Their parents, who had turned to leave (Jack rather sadly and reluctantly) both froze and exchanged glances.

Jazz looked worriedly at Danny, who shrugged helplessly. Then she sighed. "Mr. Masters," she said, "thank you for the invitation, but we'll be staying in our SUV."

"It is a really cool SUV," Jack commented, although Danny could see the longing in his eyes as he looked back at the castle.

Vlad looked like he was about to transform himself, but he took a deep breath. "Very well, I understand. I've been told I can be a little... intense at times. Maybe I can convince you otherwise over dinner?"

"Well," Maddie said reluctantly. "I don't know..."

"Please, give me another chance?" Vlad asked, a little more desperation showing.

Jazz folded her arms. "Will you give our dad another chance?"

The older half-ghost stood straight, blinking at her and then taking several glances at the other members of the family before he let out a sigh.

"Yes, of course. That's why I asked you all here early. I... just didn't realize it would be this difficult."

Jack looked like he was about to cry. "Vladdie!" he said, starting forward, but Danny had already grabbed his arm.

"Not now, Dad," he muttered.

"But—"

"Jack," Maddie hissed, not unkindly, "Danny's right."

The larger man slumped a little. "Fine." Danny patted his arm. His form of high functioning autism meant that he had difficulties reading the room, but it just took a little managing and awareness from those around him and everything usually ended up just fine.

Hopefully more than fine this time.

Danny looked over at Vlad, still standing there looking pleading. At Maddie. Of course.

"Very well," his mother said with a sigh. "We'll stay for dinner."

"Excellent!" Vlad looked happy and relieved. "What would you all like? You can all order separately. I have a staff of personal chefs." That were all likely ghosts.

"I'll have whatever Dad's having," Danny said with a bright smile. "He has such good taste."

"Aw, thanks, Danno! How about a steak?"

"That sounds great!" Danny agreed.

"And fudge!"

Danny did not smack his hand to his forehead, but it was a near thing. "How about a salad and fudge for desert instead?" he asked.

"Oh, and some mashed potatoes!"

"I'll have the skins," Danny said. Vlad could still conceivably poison his father, but A. It wasn't Vlad's style, he tended to prefer hands-on either via himself or his lackies, and B. They'd gone through this just fine the last time. Of course, they were staying in the mansion last time, thus giving Vlad more opportunities, and the older half-ghost got nasty (well, nastier) when he got desperate.

Maddie sighed herself. "I'll have the same as Danny."

Jazz looked over them for a moment before she said, "I'll have the same thing as Dad."

"Wonderful! Let me go tell the chef and we can eat later. Until then, you have free run of the mansion! I have some work to finish, so please pardon my rudeness."

"Of course," Maddie said.

"If you need me, I'll be up in my office. Third door on the right just up these stairs!"

And with that, he practically fled. Whether it was to regroup or so he didn't just go ghost and destroy them all right then and there or if he really did have work, Danny didn't know, but he wasn't unhappy to see the man leave.

"Well, that wasn't awkward at all," Jazz muttered.

"It's fine, Jack," Maddie said, noting her husband staring after the retreating man sadly.

"Maybe we shouldn't have come," he said softly. Well, for him.

"Just give him time."

Danny and Jazz exchanged glances.

"Hey, Dad," Danny said as he strode forward, "he did say we had free reign. And isn't there supposed to be a ghost?"

Immediately his father perked up. "That's right! C'mon, Maddie! Let's get the equipment!"

And with that, he rushed out, a very relieved Maddie following behind.

The physically younger sibling turned to the older. "Normally I'd say go find a library and I'll keep an eye on them, but I'm pretty sure they'll split up and if you're there with Dad, there's less chance Vlad will try to do something."

Jazz frowned. "If I'm there with dad?"

Danny sighed. "Yeah, I... want to talk to mom, and I know she'll be safe if I have to leave her for ghostly reasons.

Jazz still didn't look entirely convinced, but she did concede with a nod. "Fine, I'll trail after Dad if they split up."

The half-ghost smiled at his sister. "Thanks, Jazz."

She shrugged. "They're my parents too."

Of course, right then, said parents came barging through the door carrying all sorts of cases.

"Unfortunately," Jazz mumbled. Danny could tell she didn't really mean it, even if he could commiserate with the sentiment.

xXx

Surely enough, not five minutes into the 'hunt', his parents split up to cover more ground. They were both thrilled when one kid decided to tag along with each of them and the ghost-hunting officially commenced.

About ten minutes into scanning more or less every room they came across, Danny decided that now was as good a time as any.

"Mom... did you have a thing with Mr. Masters in college?"

His mom froze and Danny could see her face contort in a wince. When she turned around, she wore a forced smile.

"What makes you think that, honey?"

The teenager shot her an extremely unimpressed look. "He was flirting with you. Right in front of us. In front of _Dad_."

She bit her lip and looked away. "You... think so?"

Danny rolled his eyes. "Mom, if he'd been any more blatant, even Dad would have picked up on it, and that... that isn't okay."

His mom seemed to slump a little. "When I was in college, I heard about a paranormal club that had only two members in it."

"Dad and Mr. Masters?" Danny asked.

The red-head nodded. "I told you that my family was haunted by a poltergeist, right?" Danny nodded. It had been a traumatizing experience for his mother, especially as no one else in the family had seemed to have any issues. Or, at least, they didn't admit it. "Anyway, I decided to check it out and eventually joined the club. We worked on our projects outside of class and I... well, I finally found a place I belonged. Because of my paranoia and PTSD, I didn't have many friends growing up."

Well, that sounded familiar. Maybe he was more like his mom than he'd initially thought. He didn't really have a problem with that.

"Your father and Vlad... we were inseparable until the accident that put Vlad in the hospital. Three years of college together and then our friendship was just gone, just like that. I..." she paused and looked down at the instrument in her hand, even if she didn't seem to really see it, her cheeks a little red. "I knew they both had crushes on me, and at first I felt so... well, flattered, I guess. But then I saw how it strained everything between all of us. I felt I'd need to make a choice... but honestly, it was never really a choice for me. Your father can be overwhelming and oblivious at the best of times, but he's also so... optimistic and supportive. He accepted me from the moment I walked into that lab, and Vlad took some time to warm up to me. By the time we'd become friends, I was already head-over-heels in love with your father. He's always helped me feel like I belong, and I know I help to ground him. We help each other be better, and isn't that what marriage is all about?"

Danny smiled warmly up at his mother. He'd never heard it like that from her, especially after Vlad had been banished to deep space. It was nice, hearing about how they'd been back then.

However, that didn't stop one fact. "I think that's... well, kinda gross," because he was in a teen-aged body right now, and it did kind of gross him out to think of his parents even kissing, let alone more. Meh, he got over that in the future. "But kinda sweet. And also something Mr. Masters needs to know."

Immediately, his mother's brow furrowed.

"I don't know if I could ever do that to him! It would hurt him so much..."

"But Mom, aren't you hurting him by not telling him? I think he thinks he still has a chance, and that's not very fair to him, either."

His mother's eyebrows drew further together. "You think? The fact that I'm _married_ doesn't…" she stopped and let out a sigh. "No, of course it wouldn't. But..." she faded off, and Danny let her think about it. Then she sighed. "Yes, you're right, Danny. And this bothered you and your sister, didn't it?"

Danny nodded emphatically.

Her shoulders slumped ever so slightly, and she suddenly looked very tired. "You're right, Danny. I should go talk to him now. Would you mind?" she asked, holding the instrument out to him. It looked like a cold spot detector and moved more towards the yellow the closer it got to him. Thankfully, for once, his mother didn't seem to notice.

"Sure. Just, be careful, k, Mom?"

The woman smiled sadly. "Oh, I don't have anything to fear from Vlad. But, if he does try anything, I have a 9th degree black-belt." She winked at him.

He grinned back. "Good."

Almost as if on cue, a door opened down the hall and Vlad walked out of the room towards another door, holding a phone to his ear.

Maddie took a deep breath, then let it out. "See you soon, honey."

"Good luck, Mom."

He waited until she was a little ways down the hall before darting into the next room and checking for cameras. When he saw none, he set the instrument down, went ghost, then turned intangible and followed her. There was no way he'd leave her unguarded in a room anywhere near Vlad Masters.

Stupid hero complex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: (Sorry for the long note)
> 
> I've begun to use the word 'sapient' instead of 'sentient' because I looked it up, and any animal that has higher brain function is sentient, while those who are self aware are sapient. I thought it was the other way around. Mind. Blown.
> 
> I didn't see much of a point in changing anything about how they got to Wisconsin, and I also wanted to point out that some things would really stay the same. The family members' basic personalities, for instance. So yeah. That being said, don't expect a whole lot else to be the same from here on out. Kind of one last hurrah, I suppose. There might be some recognizable things in the future, but likely not as similar to the original as this is.
> 
> Now, as for last time… talk about a polarizing chapter. People either loved it or hated it. *ahem* Understandable, but I do think I need to clarify a few things.
> 
> Some people accused me of messing up the canon pairing just to make way for my own favorite pairing. Um… no. Seeing as my favorite pairing won't work either. I honestly think that having Sam and Danny stay together doesn't work. I don't mind the pairing. It's canon and that automatically gives it a bunch of points in my book. But no matter how many issues I have with it, high-school romances don't tend to last. Do I think Danny and Sam COULD have made it work? Yes. With a lot of sacrifice from one party or the other, but both of them are selfless enough that they wouldn't want the other one to hurt themselves or give up their dreams or what keeps them sane for a relationship between them. In most cases, I honest to goodness don't see it working. *shrug* My opinion, my story. If you don't like it, you're welcome to write your own. No, seriously, I'll even read it and likely enjoy it. I'm always looking for a good, well-thought-out fic to listen to while I draw (part of what has kept me sane recently – thank you fanfiction downloader!).
> 
> That being said, the reason that last chapter partially spurred this story into existence is because it convinced me there was enough emotional baggage there to make this story work. I've already been accused of everything going TOO well, and I get it. I'm honestly taking this one episode at a time and asking myself what would happen. I do have some ideas for later that aren't going to exactly go as Danny expects… so yeah. But I knew that would be a long-time coming going into the fic, so I wasn't sure if it would be worth it. Then I thought about the DannyxSam thing and thought 'Okay, there's something there I can work with. Onto the story!' Or… well, something along those lines. *ahem*
> 
> As for a beta reader… I meant to get around to looking at people who had offered (including my previous beta reader, no, hon, I'm not upset at you. Promise. As a matter of fact, you're welcome to drop by the google docs and check out what I have there if you want), but this new webcomic has SUCKED AWAY MY LIFE! I honestly get up, wake up for an hour or so, eat, and then get to work drawing. I will draw with breaks (because burnout is a bad thing…) for the next 8 – 15 hours, then go back to sleep, and I'm STILL behind. You guys are lucky you're getting this chapter this month at all. I reserve the right to wait to post the next one in July… I will likely not get around to finding a beta reader until then. So if you see anything wrong with the chapter, feel free to let me know. I'll likely make another call for anyone who wants to beta with the next chapter, though. So if it's something you'd be interested in, be on the look out.
> 
> I also may not be able to respond to any reviews or responses until July, but I promise I read every single one of them! Some of them, multiple times. I really appreciate that you've taken time out of your own busy life to come and read my story. It really means the world to me, so thank you!
> 
> For anyone interested: If you go to webtoons, look up HACamp and then check out 'Hope for Scars', I'd REALLY appreciate it! The second installment should be up this week so I'd also appreciate it if you subscribed to it. Don't blame you if you just want to take a look at it though. Thanks in advance!


	22. The Talk and Aftermath

Maddie did _not_ want to do this. She never had, which was why she'd left it for so long. But after seeing the concern for her on her son's face, and how much this had bothered him, she didn't feel she had much of a choice. And it was something she really should have done already.

That didn't make it any easier.

But the way things were made her uncomfortable, and worse, made her children uncomfortable. If Jack knew and could understand what was going on, it would break his heart. When they'd first gotten the invitation to the reunion, Maddie hadn't wanted to go. But it would just be two days, and she had wanted to see how Vlad was doing.

Apparently physically, he'd gotten much better, but mentally...

She'd been uneasy about his flirting in school. It was even worse now, and while she normally liked to face things head on, with all the emotional baggage riding on the current status quo, she'd honestly just wanted to avoid it. Give her a ghost or a criminal and she'd happily take them down, but she'd never been good with emotional confrontations. At least she was better with her kids. Well, she hoped she was. It was something she'd worked on.

Shaking all of that from her head, she straightened her shoulders as she approached the white-haired man, who must have heard her coming because he turned around, scowl on his face. His expression melted into a beaming smile when he saw who it was, and she honestly did not want to be the one to wipe it off. It took every ounce of self control to not turn around and walk away right then and there.

"Maddie! What a surprise!"

"I... hope I'm not interrupting something," she said, only a little hesitant. "But I'd like to speak with you about something. In private."

"Interrupting? Of course not! I can always make time for you."

"So the business you had to do...?" she trailed off, expectantly.

"Well, I suppose I can do it after dinner."

She had her suspicions that he'd just wanted to get away from Jack, but figured she needed to let it slide, no matter how she'd almost hoped there would have been an excuse to avoid all of this.

_Come on, Maddie, woman up!_ She told herself as Vlad gestured to a nearby open door that led into an office. Before they could get there, though, a vase tipped down the hall and fell to the floor. It didn't shatter, but it did distract both of the adults, who went over to examine it. Maddie was both grateful and frustrated with the distraction. Grateful because she still didn't want to do this. Frustrated because she really wanted to get it over with.

"Was that your ghost?" she asked, wishing she still had her scanning equipment on her. She looked back down the hall behind them, but it stood empty. She couldn't see Danny anywhere. Of course.

"Perhaps," Vlad said, eyes narrowed and tone tight as he picked the vase up and put it back on its stand. When nothing else happened, he turned back to her and smiled. "Anyway, shall we?"

They headed back to the office and went inside. Three chairs, a couple of small coffee tables between them and a desk littered with papers had been set up inside, all of the finest make. Maddie was pretty sure the furniture in this room alone would pay for her entire house and she tried not to let it overwhelm her.

Once they were situated, Vlad smiled over at her. "So, what did you wish to talk about? Know that I'm always here for you, Maddie, no matter what you're going through."

She winced. "And I appreciate that, Vlad, I really do. But... well, I... I want you to stop flirting with me, _especially_ in front of my children and _husband_. That's beyond inappropriate."

Never let it be said that she wasn't blunt. She supposed she had to be after years of living with Jack, who just didn't get subtle hints. Sometimes he didn't get blatant hints either.

The white-haired man just blinked at her like he couldn't comprehend what she was saying, so she sighed. "I'm married, Vlad. Happily so. I love my husband, and that isn't going to change. I'm sorry you feel the accident got in the way of a relationship between you and me back then, but I loved Jack almost from the moment I met him. He was warm and caring and devoted and accepting of things that no one else had ever been accepting of. He has such a large heart and such huge ambitions and is actually quite intelligent when he's given a focus. He can be a bit... frustrating to be around – I suspect he might be autistic – but that happens with any couple, and I'm actually happier because our relationship has some small challenges sometimes. If we didn't have to work for it, it wouldn't be worth it."

Vlad was staring with an expression half-way between 'does not compute' and utter horror.

"You... always loved him?"

She nodded. "Yes. If you would have asked me back then, I would have likely gone on a date with you, but – and I hate to say this because I know how much it will hurt, and I'm sorry, but – I would have eventually chosen Jack. Not because you aren't a great person, but because that's how love works. He makes me happy, Vlad."

His face had begun to tighten. "What happened to his big heart after the accident?"

Maddie frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I spent two months in a coma and two more years in the hospital without a single visit."

The red-head's frown deepened. "No visit? Jack told you already. He and I visited almost every day for those two months and then we were told, in no uncertain terms by the doctor, that we weren't welcome anymore." That may or may not have had a lot to do with Jack and his ability to clumsily destroy more or less anything remotely fragile – something Danny may have inherited, sadly.

The other man's face had slackened again. "You... did?"

"It was Jack's idea. I would have likely stopped by once a week or so otherwise, but Jack never missed a day. It was just something else to admire in him to me."

She sighed again, this still wasn't easy, but she was glad that they'd cleared some of that up at least. She hoped he remembered this time…

"I... see."

He sounded choked up. The woman didn't say anything, mainly because she wasn't entirely sure what she could that wouldn't make the whole situation more awkward.

"So you're saying I... never stood a chance... and never will?"

Maddie smiled sadly at him. "That's exactly what I'm saying, Vlad. Even if something happened to Jack, Heaven forbid, I can't see myself ever remarrying. I'd likely just continue on with our work and raising Jazz and Danny. That would be my focus if Jack ever..." she faded off, unable to finish that thought. The last thing she wanted for her husband was for him to become a ghost himself. She shuddered at the thought.

Then she took a calming breath and looked up at Vlad. He seemed to be staring straight ahead in shock, his eyes not focused on more or less anything, and her heart went out to him.

"Vlad, I know that you've been angry with us – with Jack, even though I maintain that I had just as much to do with the accident as him – but we are willing to do just about anything to show you that we want you back in our lives. Both Jack and I were devastated when you were suddenly not there any longer. But we were so close back then that, even after twenty years, both of us hold you in high esteem and would love to have our old friend back, if you're willing. I would love for Jazz and Danny to get to know you like we did. Jack doesn't have any brothers or sisters, and his parents travel so often I think I can count the times my children have seen them on one hand. My parents live on the other side of the country and my sister... well, she doesn't exactly like to visit. But you're family, Vlad, if you want to be, and I want my children to have an uncle they can turn to if they feel they need someone to go to. That... can't happen if you can't let the past go – let me go."

Maybe she'd been listening to Jazz a little much recently. Her daughter actually _liked_ doing things like this with people? When it honestly hurt so much?

Silence fell thickly over the room, stifling and awkward. Maddie could tell Vlad needed a moment to process what she'd said, so she kept quiet.

Finally, he opened his mouth.

"So... if the accident had happened to, say, Jack instead of me, I still would have had no chance?"

Maddie's lips thinned. Hadn't she answered this already? No, she needed to be patient. This was obviously an unhealthy obsession he'd been holding for a while and he needed to work through it. She should be grateful he was catching on as quickly as he was, really.

"I don't know, Vlad, but probably not. And I still would have held feelings for Jack, which wouldn't have been fair to any of us. I can never give you what you want from me, Vlad. I can't say I'm not flattered that someone who isn't my husband finds me desirable after all these years, but you and I wouldn't be happy together, not in that capacity. Not both of us, so not either of us in the long run.

"Vlad, if you love me, let me go and move on. Please."

And he suddenly looked so lost that she couldn't help but reach out and take his hand in one of her own while patting it with the other, gently. He just looked down at their joined hands morosely, as if the action pained him. Before she could consider letting him go, though, he spoke.

"I... don't know if I... can."

Maddie closed her eyes and couldn't help if she slumped a little bit.

"I understand. If it's too painful to be around us, we'll leave until you're ready for us to come back. And if you never are... well, we'll hate that, but we'll respect it as well. If that's what will help you, then that's what we'll do.

"But..." she went on before he could say anything, "I also want you to know that there will always be a place for you in our home if you want. You need to respect our rules – no flirting, no degrading Jack, and, you know, nothing illegal – but if you're willing to do that... well, just think about it, alright?"

She seemed to have gotten her point across. She hoped it stuck. Now she needed to get out of this uncomfortable situation before it got worse. Still, she was glad Danny had prodded her into doing this. It was long-overdue. Maybe she'd be a little more open about such communications in the future.

xXx

Danny watched his mother walk out of the room from his hiding place behind one of the large chairs. He couldn't help but smile after her. He knew this had been difficult for her, but, as usual, she'd risen to the challenge and gotten everything across that she needed to, while still being as caring as she possibly could. People could say what they wanted about her, but he really looked up to his mother.

After a few moments of silence, Danny peeked invisibly around the side of the chair and his face immediately fell. Vlad looked… _broken_. It was unnerving to say the least because Vlad didn't break. He backed down sometimes, made tactical retreats, could look fearful and angry and upset, but he didn't _break_.

Part of Danny knew that this could lead to a very good place. Vlad could reevaluate and start his journey on rebuilding a far more healthy life.

It could also lead to a far worse place. An image of blue skin and flaming white-hair over red eyes and a superior, fanged smirk… He shuddered. He'd known Vlad had held back a lot, even back then. He hadn't been willing to _admit_ it, even to himself, but he'd known. Would Vlad potentially be _worse_ this time around? Would he start hating everyone in their family now? Shy away from the emotional pain and cut himself off?

He bit his lip, unsure of what to do.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, as the case may be), the decision was taken out of his hands.

"I know you're there," Vlad's voice suddenly croaked out. Along with the rawness, he sounded hard – angry, and Danny winced.

He let himself become visible in his ghost form. "Um... sorry. I guess this is a bad time for a chess match?"

"Leave."

Danny bit his lip, unsure as to whether he should go or not. It didn't feel right to just leave Vlad alone like this.

"You are undoubtedly here protecting those you've claimed from your haunt. You have my word that they have nothing to fear from me, so leave." He still looked so fragile, despite trying to hold it all together in front of someone.

The younger half-ghost shifted a bit again before setting down and walking towards the man, knowing very well that he may be taking his life into his own hands.

"You know," he said slowly, "I thought I'd found the woman I'd grow old with."

Vlad snorted. "Aren't you all of twelve years old?" he asked, bitterly.

Danny wanted to frown but struggled to let the degrading tone roll off his back as best he could as he answered, perhaps a bit dryly. "I'm actually almost thirty."

Vlad blinked and looked him up and down. "Aren't you a hybrid too?"

So, he did know. Huh. Danny put his money on Skulker. It was probably recent if he hadn't put 'Danny Fenton' and 'Phantom' together yet. He shrugged. "It's complicated. But I dated my girlfriend for almost eight years. I was positive that we'd get our happy ending because we loved each other so much. I had the ring picked out for six of those eight years, you know." And could he help it if he got a little wistful and nostalgic at the memory?

"Isn't that a little Disney-ish of you?" the older hybrid asked, tone flat.

Danny shrugged. "Probably. Doesn't mean we didn't want it."

"What happened?" Vlad asked after a short pause, looking unsure as to whether he wanted to know or not. Danny counted the fact that he asked at all as a win.

"We found out the hard way that true love… hurts. It's selfless and neither one of us wanted the other one to make debilitating sacrifices just to be together. If she'd married me, she would have had to settle down in my haunt and... I couldn't do that to her – restrict her like that. It would have been like clipping her wings and forcing her to stay grounded when she was always meant to fly." He clutched at his hazmat suit above his heart, willing his core to stop hurting as it always did when speaking about this. "Of course, I couldn't leave my haunt, even if I'd found a way to shift my obsession, it would only tie me down somewhere else or put too much pressure on me, so we were stuck between a rock and a hard place." Even the forced lighter tone didn't help. He shouldn't be surprised; in this case, it never did.

"You've been haunting Amity Park for eight years?" Vlad asked skeptically.

Danny shrugged. "Again, complicated. I remember doing so, even if no one else does."

The white-haired man frowned, but decided to move on. He must have been really out of it. Not that anyone should blame him.

"Was she part of your obsession?" he asked.

Danny snorted. "Definitely."

A thoughtful, watery expression crossed the older hybrid's face. "What did you do?"

At that, Danny smiled. "I talked it out when I found someone who would listen to me. Talking to _someone_ is better than talking to no one, and it always will be." Well, unless they were trying to hurt you or something, but Danny was pretty sure Vlad would understand that. He really didn't want to get caught up in semantics right now.

Vlad turned away, scowl back in place.

"You know," Danny ventured after a moment of heavy silence, "the Fenton's girl, Jazz, is studying to be a paranormal psychologist. You may want to check her out. She's young and new, so you'll have to be patient with her, but she's also extremely intelligent and a great motivational speaker."

Somehow his scowl turned cool. "I don't need professional – or any – help."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Please. You just had a passion you've been chasing for two decades shot down. 'Painful' doesn't begin to describe it and historically, creatures of all kinds haven't done well with recovering from realizations and changes like that. Any person would need some help to get through the aftermath, let alone a hybrid. That's okay, you know. It doesn't make you weak or vulnerable, it just makes you human."

Pain and uncertainty flashed through Vlad's gaze before it smoothed out again. Before he could say anything, Danny decided to continue on.

"It's… difficult to change a ghostly obsession, but it is possible. And from what I've seen, I think you're strong enough to do it."

He shrugged when Vlad closed his mouth and frowned yet again. "Just, think about it, K?"

The older hybrid sighed. "Very well. Now can you leave a grieving man in peace?"

"Do you really want that?" Danny asked, cocking his head to one side. "Because a game of chess can be a good distraction..."

To his credit, Vlad actually thought about it. Then he sighed. "Thank you for the offer, but I really would like to be alone right now."

That was honestly much better than he thought he'd get.

"Okay. I'll be hanging around for a couple of days if you want."

"Just stay out of any private areas and I take little issue with that. Although, if the Fentons catch you, do not expect me to intervene."

"Fair enough. Well, feel better..." he said a little awkwardly as he floated backwards and through the door. Vlad didn't answer him. He hovered there for several minutes wondering if he'd done the right thing before he ducked into the room he'd left Mom's instrument in and returned to his human form. Then he went off in search of his mother.

xXx

Vlad never did make it down for dinner. Danny kept shooting the stairs worried looks when they all gathered to eat, but a butler came out and showed the family to a dining room – large, but smaller than Danny remembered. Said butlar informed them that Mr. Master's had a work emergency and likely wouldn't be making it to the meal.

Danny's mom looked both miserable and content, somehow, and it was all Danny could do to not just go over and give her a hug. He'd do so later, when it wouldn't draw attention.

The food was wonderful, of course, but Danny barely tasted it. No one got sick, so no poison, and once they were finished, the butler (who still hadn't introduced himself) led them to the door, asking them to call on him at any hour if they needed anything, simply by ringing the doorbell.

The next thing Danny knew, they'd all settled down for a comparatively quiet night. His father blathered on about how difficult it was to track a spirit down in a mansion that large, and if he'd been any more self aware, he may have noticed his children shooting worried looks at their mother.

Maddie, however, seemed content to cuddle close to her husband, happy to draw what comfort she could from him. And Jack, being the person he was, freely gave it. Honestly, it made Danny's heart warm. His parents could be terribly adorable. Well, for parents.

They went to sleep that night as a family, and even the snoring didn't bother Danny quite as much as it usually did.

xXx

They found out the next morning that Vlad canceled the reunion at his mansion, claiming a personal emergency. He did, however, manage to find another venue at a nearby town that quickly put together a party worthy of the money he likely paid for something that extravagant on this short of notice.

They ended up driving over an hour to get there, and the two siblings were introduced to several people they would likely never remember. Their parents had already completely embarrassed both of them not ten minutes in. Actually, Danny was surprised it took that long.

At least Harriet Chin wouldn't lose her job this time. Well, he hoped not.

He ended up talking Jazz into staying and watching their parents for a couple of hours while he flew back to Vlad's mansion to check on him. She wasn't happy about it, but he eventually wore her down and she, reluctantly, agreed.

Danny flew back to the large, castle-like mansion they'd stayed outside of just the night before, stopping at an open mart-store on the way there to pick up another cheap chess set.

Not quite an hour after he left the reunion, he stood outside the large doors in his ghost form and reached up to ring the doorbell… then he frowned and decided to just phase through the door. Vlad knew he was there (or that he should be, in any case), and he honestly doubted the man would come down to answer the door with how he likely felt.

Which also meant Danny should proceed with caution.

Not that he wouldn't when it involved Plasmius, but still.

So he flew in through the door and up the stairs to Vlad's office, where he'd seen the man last. He touched ground and took a deep breath, hoping Vlad was in this room because otherwise, finding him could be very difficult.

He knocked softly on the door and waited, thinking of other places he could find Vlad. The kitchen, maybe? Or the man's private rooms? He had no idea where those were, though. The Secret Lab, perhaps? Yeah, that was straight down, more or less and—

He cut off as a noise came from inside.

"What?"

Danny took that as permission to open the door, so he peeked inside carefully. The room was dark but he could see the outline of a man in a chair facing the window, with the moonlight streaming through it.

"What do you want?"

Suddenly, Danny was very glad he'd come. He smiled and held up his hand. "Just like yesterday: a game of chess?"

Silence. Nothing spoken for so long that Danny wasn't sure Vlad _would_ answer. He wasn't quite sure what he'd do in that situation.

"Oh, very well," came the resigned voice. "Flip on the light, will you?"

"I also brought chocolate."

Another pause as Danny reached over to flick the light-switch and the light came on. Vlad groaned and cringed. He looked terrible – like he hadn't eaten or slept since the night before. There was a glass on the small table off to one side; a glass and several empty bottles. Oh, that was not good.

"Chocolate?" Vlad croaked.

Distraction mode initiated. Danny shrugged and put a smile on his face as he held up a bag he'd gotten while at the store. "Chocolate. It… doesn't solve anything, but it tends to make every situation better."

Vlad snorted. "Unless you're a dog. Chocolate is poison to them." Funny, he didn't sound extremely drunk. Danny had been able to get drunk in the future, but it had taken a _lot_, and usually something at least laced with ectoplasm.

"But what a way to go," Danny replied to Vlad, then bit his lip when he realized what he'd said. He really needed to work on his gallows humor.

Vlad seemed somewhat amused (or at least not offended) by it if the quirk of his eyebrow said anything. Then he gestured to the desk in front of him, scooting several papers to one side in a messy pile Danny would never have expected from his former arch nemesis. Vlad had been all straight lines and piles and neat organization. At least in public. And Danny was sure this was his 'public' private office – or the one he worked in when he had business partners and other people he wanted to impress over.

Danny set the bag of chocolate on the desk and then set the new chess set down.

Vlad quirked an eyebrow. "This isn't your set."

"I forgot my other one, so I bought this."

"In your other form?"

Danny shot him a deadpan look. "Perhaps." So that Vlad could search the video feed from the local stores? Yeah, no.

He probably would anyway. Vlad was nothing if not thorough.

Well, when he wasn't arrogant.

They quickly set up the chess set, with Danny ending up as white. Vlad had likely done that on purpose. One could tell a lot about a person with their opening chess move. Danny sighed and went for the easy gambit of moving the pawn in front of his king out. A nice, flexible strategy.

"I'm surprised you're here instead of watching your wards," Vlad said, studying the board, despite the fact that they'd only made one move.

Danny wasn't sure if he'd call his family his wards, but he also didn't want to say that to Vlad, so he just shrugged.

"I have someone watching them."

Vlad looked up and studied Danny far more than he did the board. "Hmm," was all he said to that. Then he went to move a piece. "Well, you no longer have to fear anything from me. I will not be pursuing the Fentons from here on."

Danny's brain screeched to a halt, his hand half-way between moving his bishop, his hand hovering above one of the squares. Taking a slow, quiet breath, he set the piece down, double-checked the board, and then released it.

"Not at all?"

"No," Vlad responded, a hand on his chin as he looked the board over. "I will likely cut off contact."

Well, he hadn't expected that.

"Are you sure that's… wise?"

Vlad moved a pawn. "Some things are just too painful," he said softly.

Danny couldn't argue with that.

His gaze fell on Vlad's pieces, trying to figure out what the man was planning from here on out.

"What will you do now, then?"

Vlad suddenly looked so _tired_ as his eyes fell on Danny. "I'm not entirely sure. I'm still attracted to money and power, of course, but most of that was always to prove to Maddie that I'm the better man – the better husband." He sighed. "My obsession hasn't actually changed as of right now."

"Even for ghosts – especially for ghosts – change happens slowly," Danny said, finally deciding on moving a knight. "Expecting something to just disappear overnight is unrealistic and unhealthy to say the least."

"Hmm. I suppose you're right."

That… may have been the scariest thing Danny had ever heard Vlad say… and the best. Not because Danny was right, but because Vlad admitted he was _wrong_. This was either leaps and bounds forward, or leaps and bounds back. Danny really hoped it was the former.

"I just… feel so empty, right now," the white-haired man said, voice even quieter than before. "I'm positive if I were simply a ghost, I would fade away."

Oh… ouch. That sounded like some pretty severe depression. Triggered depression, but depression nonetheless.

"Then it's a good thing you're not," Danny said, moving his queen back. It would open his bishop up and give him some options.

"Is it?" Vlad asked softly.

Danny looked up to see the man's blank stare. It was his turn, but he didn't seem to be seeing the chessboard, despite looking right at it.

"I don't even know where to start in figuring out what to do next," the older half-ghost admitted.

The time-traveler frowned and put his elbows on the desk on either side of the chessboard and rested his head on his hands, studying the other man intently. He could offer advice, he could even give examples to start a brainstorming process… but somehow, he didn't think that would work for Vlad right now.

If Vlad were his patient (not that he'd had any in the future, but still), he'd likely look for the deeper meaning here and address that.

Well, in for a penny and all that.

"Why?"

Vlad looked up, thankfully coming back to Earth from wherever he'd been. "Why do I not know what to do next?" he asked, puzzled and a little annoyed.

Danny shook his head. "Why were you so determined to woo Mrs. Fenton? Back in college, or now. Is she the forbidden fruit that you find desirable? Do you just want companionship and she happened to fit your criteria at the time so you became fixated? What about her attracts you to her?"

The billionaire frowned at Danny's question. "A better question is what _doesn't _attract me to her. She's perfect. Beautiful, brilliant, strong physically and mentally… there is nothing wrong with that woman. Why wouldn't I want that?"

_Attraction to perceived perfection_, Danny mentally noted. Why am I not surprised.

"According to her children – and yes, I have spoken to them – she can be so focused she forgets little things around her and is known to overlook circumstances or even people if they will cause too much of a problem for her to deal with at the moment. Sometimes to a point of neglect, and while she often regrets it later, it is still a point she has to work on. She has extreme ideas and expects others to live up to them, getting frustrated when they don't and just as extreme biases—"

Vlad's expression cooled as he interrupted, "If you're talking about her attitude towards ghosts, she has reasons!"

Danny nodded calmly. "I'm sure she does, but that doesn't stop the fact that she is still biased and while stubbornness can be a positive trait, it can also be extremely detrimental, especially to relationships.

"Now," he continued before Vlad could interrupt again, "I'm not saying that she's a horrible person. Far from it. She has some very admirable qualities. But you've placed her on a pedestal that few people could live up to. That isn't healthy for you or her or anyone else involved. Placing people you know personally on pedestals only ends in disappointment for all parties involved and ultimately the breakdown of the relationship. If you're lucky, you both realize it and simply go your separate ways, but usually it ends in nasty mental and emotional battles while each person tries to take as much as they can, often just to hurt the other person, leaving both parties in far worse straights than where they started.

"You can think you're the exception to the rule, if you want, but I've never come across such a case where that way of thinking didn't end up proving the rule in the end. At least not when it comes to relationships."

Vlad just stared at Danny as if seeing him for the first time, brow furrowed, but face otherwise unreadable.

Finally he asked, "Come across many cases, have you 'Ghost Child'?"

Well, that confirmed the 'Skulker' connection… again.

Danny shrugged. "You might be surprised. But I have taken classes on human psychology and how it works. I also have had first, second and third hand experience when it comes to 'pedestal relationships'." Alright, he didn't even know if that last one was a term, but he was pretty sure there was a terminology for that. He just couldn't remember… he hoped that was just his memory degrading normally and not an effect of the time travel.

"Oh?" Vlad asked, leaning forward. "Pray, tell your first-hand experience."

The younger ghost frowned. Vlad was using this as a distraction. He also wanted to get more information, which – in and of itself – made Danny wary… but he also needed to establish a position of trust here if he wanted Vlad to listen to him at all. Besides, he didn't see a problem if he remained vague.

"When I first became a hybrid, a couple of girls found out about my ghost form and decided they were in love. I could do no wrong in their eyes. That kind of pressure… I can tell you from personal experience, weighs very heavily. It started to wear me down. Especially because, one girl in particular knew my human form as well and wouldn't give my human self the time of day if." Danny sighed and leaned back, allowing himself to get lost in his memories for a moment. "There is no way that could have worked out, no matter how much we may have wanted it – not without serious therapy in any case. She just… didn't know the real me, and didn't want to. I could never have been who I truly am around her."

Vlad had finally gotten around to moving his chess piece and pointed out his own pawn move to Danny who nodded and went back to studying the board.

"I would never expect her to be something she isn't," Vlad said.

Danny just shook his head, eyes never leaving the chessboard. If he moved his king-side rook…

"If you expect her to give up on her husband and family at all, then you already do."

Silence.

Danny decided to forgo trying to get his rook out for now and moved one of his knights instead, putting Vlad's black-square bishop in danger.

"You sound like you know her personally," Vlad commented a little too nonchalantly for Danny to not look up sharply. He went over his last statement and mentally kicked himself, while forcing his face to remain just as nonchalant.

"I thought it was obvious. She doesn't exactly make a secret of it."

Vlad continued to study the younger half-ghost for several more seconds. "Indeed," was all he finally said and it rang warning bells in Danny's mind. His words could have been taken as an insult, and in the mood the other man was in, Danny would have expected him to take it that way.

"In any case," Danny went on, trying to get back on track, "the relationships that work out best tend to be those couples who are aware of each other's faults and want to help them get better, but tend to love them for those faults too. Ignoring faults and problems only lets them grow larger…" he looked back down at the board and sighed, "like I ignored the problem of you not moving your queen."

A smirk appeared on the older man's face. Then it disappeared as the implications hit home. He looked down at the board before him as if it had betrayed him. Then he deflated, slumping back against his chair.

"It doesn't really matter now, does it." He didn't say it like a question.

Danny finally decided to get his rooks into play and moved the pawn in front of his queen-side rook forward. It would get taken with another pawn, but that was fine. Indeed, Vlad took his pawn and Danny took that one in turn with his rook.

Vlad looked over the board from his slumped position and Danny decided that enough was enough.

"Of _course_ it matters," he said. "For better or worse, you were in a relationship – one sided though it may have been – and thus you can learn from it. You can extract all sorts of information about yourself, your tastes, your tendencies, issues that may arise if you're willing to be honest with yourself. And you, of all people, know how important knowledge is."

The other man stared at Danny with a blank face that was almost worse than the despondency that had been there before. Almost.

Then he leaned forward and moved his bishop.

"Check."

Danny frowned at the board and castled with his king-side rook.

"Predictable," Vlad said.

Danny shrugged. "Not always a bad thing."

"What would you… suggest then?" Vlad said, eyes on the pieces.

Danny blinked. Suggest about what? Not the game… Maddie? No, he knew the answer to that. To his question of what he should do next? Yeah, that sounded about right.

"Well, decide if another person – in an intimate or potentially intimate setting – in your life would help. Many problems don't tend to go away when someone gets into a relationship, they actually tend to double in intensity. On the bright side, it addresses loneliness and can help motivate you to become a better person if you allow it and it's healthy. If you think a relationship would be good for you, start looking around. You don't have to be in something committed at first, but that is a good goal to keep in mind for later. Get used to dating again – because, let me tell you, that is _not_ easy, but is very worth it. Learn to enjoy yourself and be yourself in other's company. If you don't like who you are around them, then change that in every aspect of your life. If they bring out the worst in you, then find other people."

He paused for a moment, looking up into Vlad's blue eyes. "I guess the most important thing is to decide who you want to be. Who do you want to be in regards to other people? Who do you want to look back at yourself from the mirror at night? A man who has left nothing but negativity in his wake, or a man who actively wants to leave positivity? And what do you desire most? Love? Or more power and control? Did getting all the money and power and control that you sought after ultimately give you what you wanted?"

He shrugged. "That's only the very tip of the iceberg, but it might be a good place to start.

Vlad didn't answer, so Danny added on one final thought. "Oh, and keep in mind that change is scary – very scary – but necessary if you want to find what will truly make you happy."

More silence before the billionaire scoffed, but Danny could tell there wasn't much vitriol behind it. "I suppose that only doing good things will make me happy? Is that your ultimate message?" He moved his rook. "Checkmate."

Danny shrugged and shook his head. "I think that's way too vague and you have to get into the definition of 'good' vs. 'bad'. I like protecting people so that they can make their own choices. The mindset I have has its issues and there are some definite downsides, but there are also some definite up-sides and those make it worth it to me. Some people can't handle that kind of pressure, though, and it would never make them happy. At least, not the way I do it. But I have found the people who focus on positive and constructive things tend to be happier." He shrugged again. "Either way, it's up to you."

Then he sighed and knocked his king over.

"Good game."

"Hmm."

Vlad was staring off into space, looking thoughtful. Funny, Danny had never known the man to not gloat over a win in some way… maybe he'd gotten through to him?

Well, one could hope.

"Care for another?" Danny asked, reaching to reset the board.

A hesitation, then, "No. Thank you."

The white-haired teen looked over Vlad, studying him carefully. Then he shrugged and began to put the game away.

"Alright."

More silence as he packed the pieces and then the board up.

"Would you like me to stay?" he asked. "I have the rest of the night off." Well, not really, but it wouldn't do to let Vlad know that. He'd find a way to make it up to Jazz later.

Vlad's eyes, staring off into the distance for a while now, focused on Danny again. He opened his mouth to respond, but then slowly closed it, focus intensifying.

"You have nothing to gain," he finally said.

The younger hybrid shrugged. "Nothing immediate or monetary. But when it comes to future implications, you might be surprised."

Vlad frowned. "I am not going to acknowledge a debt of any kind."

Danny snorted, then shook his head. "No, no. Nothing like that. It's just, in the future, when we meet, I'd like to be on good terms. I believe in karma. A little bit of effort on my part tends to go a long way towards helping everyone in the future."

It was the older half-ghost's turn to snort. "Life isn't that simple."

A smile found it's way onto Danny's face. "No. That's why I said 'tends'. It doesn't always. But if you base your actions off of the exceptions instead of the rule, you'll be able to do nothing but complain about how life has robbed you. Like I said, people who think they're the exception tend to prove the rule, after all."

"Hmm. Perhaps," he conceded hesitantly.

"Hey, if you need anything, send a message. I don't currently have a phone, but hopefully that will change soon. Just make sure any ghosts you send won't do any damage, please. I do reserve the right to arrest anyone causing a disturbance in my haunt."

Vlad's smile was small, but there as he leaned forward, so Danny decided to take it as a win. "Fair enough. Now why not leave _my_ haunt and go look after your foolish family of ghost hunters."

Did that mean he'd figured it out? Well, he didn't say anything else, simply staring expectantly at his guest. After a moment, Danny grinned, saluted, and stood to walk out. Before he could close the door behind him, though, he paused and looked back over his shoulder.

"You know," he said softly, "even if it isn't in the capacity you originally wanted, it's still okay to let someone care for you. And it's okay to care for someone. Those tend to be the most meaningful relationships in life anyway."

He waited for Vlad to nod in acknowledgment before he finally stepped into the hall and shut the door.

Well, one way or another, that would be an _enormous_ change on the timeline. Part of him couldn't help but be worried. He'd just given away a good deal of his advantage… but part of him couldn't help but be excited to see where this new timeline went.

He always had been a glutton for punishment.

After taking a deep breath (that he didn't need), he turned and began to fly through the roof, carrying his game in his hand, determined to get back to the party asap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Whew! *wipes forehead* After that utter BEAST of a chapter...
> 
> Yeah, this took two months to get up. Not because I didn't have it written, but because other things have come up. I didn't get my comic done in time, but will post the last three episodes in August for anyone who is interested.
> 
> I have been sucked back into Final Fantasy with the new game that I put off getting until the end of the contest. Bwahahahaha! I am finished! Expect lots of new FFVII fics. *ahem*
> 
> Also, for those of you who said they'd like a discord, I finally have one up! It's just getting started, but I plan on discussing future ideas, notes and alternate scenes, discussing ideas that may or may not ever get written... so if you're interested, please stop by! discord.gg/ezzFnGJ (without spaces) aka Obi's Den of Geek and Writerings


	23. Halloween

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: Most of this chapter has been written forever... some of it... hasn't. If there are problems, please let me know, but this is still unbetad because I'm terrible and keep forgetting to get a beta for this. *headdesk*
> 
> Info about the timeline at the end!

The Fentons got back to Amity Park (much to Danny’s relief) late Sunday night. 

His relief didn’t last long as the town they returned to was in chaos.

Immediately, his (very tired) parents perked up, dropping the two of them off – without even their bags, only their backpacks – and going off to find the ghost.

Danny had just sighed and reached for his phone. It had died. Of course.

He may or may not have walked over to the door just to bang his head on it. Jazz offered to drive him around town, but he rejected with a smile.

“I’ll be fine. Promise. Um… can I borrow your phone though?”

She didn’t look too sure, but she exchanged phones with him, going up to plug his in while he transformed and flew out to find out the source of the problem.

It didn’t take him long to realize that he had two options: Desiree must have taken his absence as a chance to push her boundaries, or another ghost had shown up. The Fright Knight? October was approaching quickly… No, that couldn’t be it. And few other ghosts could do such wide-spread damage that was, as often as not, just… weird. Like trees in the park being different colors, or random storms, far too close to the ground, hovering over one spot.

He shook his head. It had to be Desiree. She would have had to stick with his wish of ‘only small wishes’, but apparently pushing that could send people into the streets brawling, in multiple areas, at 11:30 at night.

He finally found her overlooking a fight consisting of two girls and a boy, all in their late teens, giggling. The girls were fighting – as in a knock-down brawling fight – while the guy sat to the side looking half thrilled, half horrified.

Floating up behind her, he uncapped his thermos.

“I wish you would undo everything you’ve done and get into my thermos.”

She jumped a mile, then  realized who was floating there with wide ning eyes. For a moment, Danny thought she’d actually try to fight him on it, but then she hung her head and sighed. 

“So you have wished it…”

The girls stopped fighting, looking confused while the guy asked why they’d started. They didn’t know. He asked why they stopped. Both girls slapped him and left. Danny sighed. Again.

The trees returned to their normal color, the strange weather disappeared… No one really knew what had just happened and everyone was a little freaked out about it.

Speaking with Desiree later that night, Danny found out that she’d simply pushed her definition of ‘small, inconsistent wishes’ as far as she could, justifying it to herself the whole while. Danny understood, he really did, but she caused damage, panic and pain to the people in his town and had thus broken the rules. He didn’t think she’d had any intent to actively hurt someone, so he left her in the thermos for an hour and released her into the ghost zone, assuring her that she could come and ask him to in about a month to be let back out.

He was glad his parents  had come home and  gone directly to bed as that allowed him to sneak down to the portal and back  to his room  without any incident. 

Of course, that put him to bed well after one in the morning. Naturally.

And he was up at six.

Stupid alarm. Stupid school. Stupid ghosts.

He found his phone on his bedside table (thank you, Jazz) and managed to stumble into a fast shower and out the door in time to catch the bus.

Fortunately, no ghost attacked that day and he was able to get to bed and to sleep that night.

Actually, ghost activity remained light for the next several weeks, with only a couple minor ones showing up here and there. He’d _still_ like to know how the Box Ghost kept getting out of the ghost zone! That had been something he’d never gotten an answer for in the future, although the lair idea being connected to the human world still had merit… Fortunately, all Jonathan needed were a couple of updates and that was that.

So Danny had fallen into a fairly normal rhythm when October rolled around.

xXx

Mr. Lancer had the _worst_ timing.

Why was he around to stop fights (that Danny could completely avoid on his own, thank you very much, and he'd even been looking forward to recording this one!) and assign detention (or the equivalent of) _now?_

And why was Danny whining to himself? Yeah, he'd attribute that to his 14-year-old self. Too childish to be his future self. Right?

He wasn't being bitter about that stupid ghost eel getting by him _again. _He'd like to see it grin smugly at him if he'd been able to freeze it. Yeah, he couldn't wait for his ice powers to stabilize. He could still only really cool down a drink at this point. Even that took a lot out of him.

The problem was, this ghost had gotten by him the first time around. He had no idea where it had disappeared to then, and wasn't entirely sure he could track it now. Likely it went over to Lake Eerie. There had been too many hauntings over there in his past life to not have something to do with ghosts. They didn't tend to actually hurt humans, so Danny had left them alone. Maybe he should reassess that stance.

"Scariest room wins," Mr. Lancer said as he walked away. "Football star or not."

Danny frowned. He hadn't really been involved in Halloween for a while. Usually he was out patrolling for natural portals this time of year, as they tended to pop up more often. He had taken a couple of electives on writing/critiquing scare tactics and horror though. He was part ghost, after all.

Hmm.

"Hey, Mr. Lancer," he called out after the balding teacher, ignoring Dash who looked about to pop a blood vessel right next to him. Mr. Lancer paused. "I have a couple of friends who would love to be involved in something like this. Can I get them too?"

The older man frowned in thought. "My first instinct is to say no, because both of you need to come up with this idea on your own. But..."

"Please, Mr. Lancer! I promise we'll each come up with our own!" Dash said from beside him, trying to pull off a puppy-dog face of all things. Danny wondered who fell for something like that.

"Oh, very well. But I want an idea from both of you by the end of tomorrow."

"You got it, Mr. Lancer," Danny said... and if he had a devious smile crossing his face, then who could blame him. After all, people got places in life by who they know just as much as what they know.

Of course, the moment Mr. Lancer turned the corner, Dash had turned around and gotten in Danny's face and proposed his bet. Just like last time.

The more things changed, the more they stayed the same.

Danny looked at the (very disgusting) underwear for a couple of seconds. His first instinct was to say 'no', but he knew that would brand him as a coward. He could honestly work with that, but it still rubbed him the wrong way. Of course, if he said 'yes', he was giving in to immaturity. Still...

"Fine," he said. "But only on the condition that you eat them if you don't."

Eh, he was still 14, mentally. Sometimes the idiocy just wasn't worth fighting. The fact that it made Dash pause for a moment was incredibly satisfying. Probably more so than it should be.

"Fine. May the best man win."

With that, Dash turned to walk away. Danny just stared after him as Sam and Tucker came up beside him.

"You okay, man?" Tucker asked.

Danny felt a smirk pull at the side of his mouth.

"I'm fine."

"Do you really think you can win?" Sam asked, sounding skeptical.

"Hmm," Danny replied noncommittally. Then he turned to Tucker. "If you're willing to help me, I need you to look up everything you can on how to make something scary – books, plays, movies and haunted houses."

Tucker nodded. "I'm here for you, dude!"

Danny's smile became softer and warmer. "Thanks, man. You're the best."

Then he turned to Sam. "Will you help me?"

She scoffed. "Of course."

His smile grew. "I really am lucky to have the two best people in the world as my friends."

She waved a hand, although her cheeks had darkened a little bit and he didn't comment on the slight downturn of her shoulders. He'd just told Vlad it took time to get over things and he needed to apply that to both him and Sam as well.

"Yeah, yeah. We get it," she said.

"We're awesome," Tucker responded with a wide grin.

"Then we can start brainstorming ideas to implement, and they'll be the best if they come from the Goth Queen herself."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Enough with the flattery. We're wasting time. Let's go."

They went to grab their stuff and hurried out of the school.

"What about the ghost you were chasing?" Sam asked, once they'd gotten outside.

Danny's smirked fell away. "It escaped. I have no idea where it is now."

"Well, there has to be a first time for everything, even failure," Tucker muttered from beside them, looking up something on his PDA. Probably already researching.

The half-ghost blinked. "I've failed before, Tuck."

Sam scoffed. "You have future knowledge. You know every ghost you go up against."

"Not every one," Danny mumbled.

His friend shrugged. "Like Tucker said, there has to be a first for everything."

"Yeah, well, I'll figure out a way to find and get this ghost too." If it ever showed its slimy hide around here again...

Was it just Halloween that was making him think so... childishly?

"So," Sam said, "Brainstorming?"

Danny's grin came back full force. "What ideas do you have?"

xXx

The Lunch Lady stared at Danny for several seconds before she replied to his question. "Let me understand this, sweetie: you have to scare humans for a class project, and you want me to... help?"

"Only if you want to," Danny said hurriedly. "And there would be some pretty strict rules. You can't openly show any major ghost powers, and you can't touch or overshadow any of the people who come through. You'd have to stick to the script pretty closely... so I get it if it isn't your thing but... well, it is me letting you out to scare humans... on Halloween. So, entertaining at worst."

"Hmm," she responded as she thought over that.

"You don't have to give me an answer now, but soon would be good."

The older ghost just smiled at him. "Of course I'd be happy to help you, dearie."

Danny looked relieved. "Thanks," he said.

"Who else have you gotten to help?" she asked curiously.

"Well, Dora and the Box Ghost have both agreed to help me as well. No one else seems to have time and... well, I don't trust many others who don't have their own obligations."

"Very well, sweetie. We shall make them _DINE ON OUR FURY!_"

Danny sighed, albeit fondly. "So close."

xXx

Mr. Lancer looked at the two papers in front of him. Mr. Baxter had a detailed description of the 'Gym of Doom' he wanted to do for his room. He wished the boy would put in as much effort to the rest of his schoolwork. This was the most he'd seen from him since... well, ever.

Then there was Mr. Fenton's. All it had on it were two sentences. "My Halloween Room will be centered around the theme 'Compare and Contrast.' I will utilize ghosts." And that was it. Well, he hadn't assigned them a certain length, and that was really all his fault.

Besides, he was probably more curious about what Danny would do than he otherwise would be, so he was willing to let it slide... this time.

xXx

Danny got everyone together before Mr. Lancer showed up.

"Alright, you all know the rules – invisibility, flying and intangibility only. No overshadowing, no giant meat monsters," he shot a look at the Lunch Lady, who sniffed, "or dragons," he looked at Dora who nodded firmly back, "or storms of boxes."

"You are making a mistake!" the Box Ghost said in his usual voice.

Danny raised an eyebrow. "I'll take my chances."

"Danny, he's coming!" Sam, dressed up in a black body suit and a skeleton mask on top of her head, rushed in.

"Is the ghost shield up?" Danny asked.

Sam nodded. They'd gotten special permission from his parents to put up a ghost shield... one that Danny knew how to work and that they had tested out. Not only would it be extra protection, but his parents wouldn't think to look for ghosts here. He hoped.

"You good, Tuck?" he asked into his Fenton Phones.

"_You bet I am, dude._"

The half-ghost grinned. "Alright, places everyone! Stick to the script as much as you can. Stick to the rules, period. But honestly, have fun."

"We have to win this," Sam said. "It's a matter of pride." She ran past and through the doorway of the little maze they'd set up. The others followed her.

"I mean it," Danny called after her, "It's about fun!"

Somehow he felt that his and her roles had reversed this time around. Hadn't she been the one to try and talk him out of winning at all costs last time? Although, she wasn't wrong. It was a matter of pride at this point. Four different ghosts working on this haunted house and they didn't win? That would be a disgrace. But he could deal with that as long as they'd just done the best they could. Honestly, he was pretty impressed with how much they'd worked on this.

"Mr. Fenton," Mr. Lancer said, knocking on the door. Danny made sure he was in his normal, human persona before he flipped all the lights off and opened the door.

xXx

Edward Lancer had to say he'd been impressed with Dash's room. The football player had definitely taken the 'eew' factor to an extreme. But now he was approaching the room he'd been looking forward to the most. He had a feeling that this would either be a huge disappointment or something truly spectacular.

He knew what he was expecting. He also knew what he was hoping for.

Stepping up to the door, he knocked. "Mr. Fenton," he said loudly. He saw a flash under the door. Strobe lights? Promising. The door opened and a pale face that didn't even have any scary makeup on peeked out. Disappointing.

"Alright, come in, Mr. Lancer," Danny said, gesturing to the deep black room behind him.

"I hope you know, I don't scare easily," the teacher said with a deadpan expression. He couldn't help but wonder what the blackness he'd just stepped into would hold.

"Right," Danny said closing the door. "Then let me introduce you to _Danny Fenton's Room of Doom!_" With that, he flipped on the lights, revealing a small room full of obviously fake Halloween decorations. Danny pushed a button on a boom box he'd set up in the corner and a fake crash of thunder sounded.

Edward was not impressed.

Danny looked crestfallen. "Um, this way," he said, leading the teacher through the plastic bag hanging over the doorway.

"You aren't off to a good start," the teacher said, already chalking up the room to be a failure.

"Right," Danny muttered again, stepping through the plastic barrier. "Could you just wait here for a... hey. That isn't supposed to be... wait! What?!"

A loud crash and a scream had Edward rushing through the door. He ran right into a fallen bookshelf. Toys were still scattering from the fall and... wait, was that Danny underneath it? He saw an arm and some hair and... wait... wait...

"Alright, Mr. Fenton, that wasn't too bad," he said. That scream had sounded incredibly real. Then a loud slam sounded behind him. He turned around to see that where there had been plastic before, there was now a sturdy door. Where had that come from?

"Mr. Lancer?" an echoing voice asked from behind him. He turned around and almost dropped his clip board. Danny was standing in front of him alright, but he was transparent – completely see-through. He also stood _inside_ the fallen bookshelf, popping right out of the back of it as if it wasn't even there... or as if he weren't.

Mr. Lancer took a deep breath and forced his heart to slow down. "Alright, Mr. Fenton, this is much better."

"What's... better?" Danny asked, tipping his head to one side.

Mr. Lancer just pushed past the obviously fake 'crime scene' and into the door beyond. The whole room had been set up for that. Yes, now that they were past it, he was feeling better about the whole thing, no matter how (or perhaps_ because_) it had shaken him.

"The effects, the acting. I see what you mean by compare and contrast. I wasn't expecting anything good because of the last room and so you..." he paused. Danny wasn't there anymore. He blinked.

"Well, let's keep going then, okay, Mr. Lancer?"

Edward jumped a little and looked down to the side. Somehow Danny had silently moved from the bookshelf to right by him. He was still transparent. The teacher took one last uneasy look at the hand and body he could see peeking out from under the bookshelf.

Okay, maybe they had a winner here because this was still making him feel very uneasy.

He brushed that aside as Danny beamed at him. "Great! Follow me."

With that, he stepped through another plastic-covered doorway. Mr. Lancer followed. The moment he stepped through, green smoke began to billow towards him. He coughed and looked around, unable to see much of anything.

"Danny?" he asked. No answer.

"Mr. Fenton," he said, voice sterner. Again, no answer.

Then a giggle echoed around him. It was male, and didn't sound nice.

"He thinks he's still in Amity," the voice said. It wasn't Danny's. One of his friends, then? More voices joined the first, laughing and chuckling. Mr. Lancer wrote a couple of notes down on his clip board. He went to look back to see if Danny had somehow gotten behind him again and gasped. The door was... _gone_. He couldn't even see where it had been! How had they managed that? He reached his hand out and felt it there... solid. There hadn't even been a sound. Yes, he'd gone from severely unimpressed to extremely impressed very quickly here.

Movement out of the corner of his eye had him turning back around. The mist swirled. More movements... shadows zipping around far faster than humans should be able to move. Yes, the effects were very believable.

"Not in Amity," one of the voices said. Despite himself, Edward was getting more and more impressed. This was starting to actually scare him. He still cleared his throat and decided to humor Danny by just heading into the room. The boy had certainly made good use of his space. Where had he gotten the temporary walls to set this up?

Edward came to a corner and turned to see a short hall in front of him and then another turn. Ah, so this was set up like a maze? A tried and true tactic. All of these walls had been painted green and a strobe light began to flash as soon as he stepped into the hall. With the green smoke, it looked as if the walls themselves were moving.

"I will take points for you not being here, Mr. Fenton," Edward said aloud.

"Aw, but Mr. Lancer, where's the fun in that?" Danny's voice echoed even more than before.

"Perhaps I can help?" A new voice asked. Edward blinked. Where had she come from? A woman, who had not been there before, now stood in the middle of the hall. He stared at her for several seconds, even though the strobe light made it difficult to really study her. She was a young, perhaps in her 20's, with brown hair piled onto her head in neat curls. She wore a lovely, old-fashioned dress, perhaps from the 50's, that flared at the hips and short gloves. She was rather attractive.

Truthfully, Edward didn't have any issue spending time in this girl's presence.

"Very well," he said, hoping he sounded more dismissive than he felt.

"This way," she said with a slight bow and a smile as she gestured to the hall. Even in the flashing light, her movements looked practiced and graceful. Too bad Edward would have to take points off for this because she definitely took the scary factor down.

Just on the other side of the turn hung some butcher paper, lit up from the other side with smoke spilling from underneath it. Well, Danny certainly liked his flimsy dividers. Then again, if it isn't broken...

They stepped through to the space behind it. There hung three more semi-transparent dividers of butcher paper instead of walls. Mr. Lancer nodded at that, then looked at his guide. Then he jumped back. Where before he'd seen smooth skin and perfect makeup, he now saw a zombie in the same dress. Her lips seemed to have been eaten away, revealing the teeth behind. Several patches of her gray-green skin looked to have rotted through, and bones poked through her now moth-eaten gloves.

"I must insist that you choose your own way. I'll follow."

Mr. Lancer forced his heart to calm again. And they were back to impressive. Compare and contrast indeed. But he knew how to beat a maze. So he picked the right and followed the wall. The zombie girl fell into step behind him.

They ran into a couple of dead ends, but he was still able to follow the wall completely around the room. Every now and then, he'd glance behind him, and was surprised that each time, the girl had changed from perfect makeup to zombie and back again, all while keeping that bright, calm smile on her face.

He honestly had no idea how she was doing that.

On top of that, more shadows would dart around them. He could usually only see silhouettes as they appeared and then disappeared again.

The amount of effort put into this...

Surprisingly, it took him a little while to find the exit. They'd placed it more or less in the middle of the room, and then had encased stairs leading up and over the maze so he couldn't just follow the walls. Definitely a stroke of genius and taking advantage of the high ceiling in the room.

"It is here I leave you," the woman said with a curtsy. She looked normal again. Edward went to nod, but then she leaned forward and, _before his eyes,_ she changed again. He couldn't help but take a step back. Not only had she invaded his personal bubble, but _how had she done that_?!

"Make sure you're careful from here on out," she said, and he could _smell _the rot on her breath. And then, she _vanished_.

Edward had to sit there for several seconds and calm down. He didn't scream though, so there was that. He was going to make Danny tell him how they'd pulled half of these things off once he got out of there.

Once he'd gotten his racing heartbeat under control, he walked up the steps and into darkness. It wasn't so bad until the light behind him disappeared.

"Be careful," Danny's echoing voice said. "There are steps ahead. You wouldn't want to get... hurt."

"We might have to have people sign a waver before they come in here," Edward muttered.

"Hmm," replied Danny... he sounded like he stood right behind the teacher. "Probably not a bad idea."

"Indeed," Edward said. "This is a rather tight squeeze." A cold breeze rushed past him and he shivered.

"They'll just have to go single file," Danny said from... um... right in front of him? How could he have possibly gotten past Edward? Oh, it had to be a voice projection of some kind. Right.

They got to the bottom of the stairs he couldn't see, where a couple of dim black lights had been set up. All around him, skeleton parts hung in the air. He couldn't even see the strings. Must have been painted black. Around the edge of the room, full skeletons lay haphazardly. He was sure more than one of them was real, likely borrowed from the school.

And then one of them moved. It actually stood on its own before taking wobbly steps towards the teacher.

Wait, were those _hanging skulls_ moving too? _Towards him?_ Oh, that had to be some of Danny's friends in black suits with the white and off-white skeleton parts being all that the black light could illuminate. It was a very creepy effect, even once he'd figured it out.

He had to avoid the moving people as he made his way across the room.

"There you go, Mr. Lancer," Danny said. "Right through there, one more hallway, and then the exit."

Thank goodness. He'd never admit it aloud, but he was more than willing to get out of this place.

Tetslaff wouldn't know what hit her.

Edward reached for the doorknob and yanked. It didn't budge.

"Mr. Fenton," he said.

"Oh... it's stuck... I guess you'll have to use the other one... Um... maybe we should just stop this now."

Edward rolled his eyes. Did he really think goading like that would work on him? Please. That would be admitting defeat.

"Where is the other door?" he asked, a little impatiently.

Danny didn't answer.

"Over there..." a skeleton with a very high, raspy voice said. It was the one that had moved. It now stood behind Edward and pointed. And it also got into his personal space... without touching him, of course. The detailing on that mask was pretty phenomenal. It looked real as well.

"Yes... well," Edward said, clearing his throat a little. He turned and began to walk towards the area the skeleton had pointed to. Then... it laughed. Soft, as if to itself, but still cruel-sounding somehow.

He found the other door – black, of course, with no skeleton parts on it. Then he pushed through a heavy cloth cover, this time. He had to blink and step back. The light on the other side was about as bright as the skeleton room had been dark.

Compare and contrast. Right.

He braced himself and stepped through again, ignoring the skeleton's continued chortling behind him. A long hallway, likely the length of the room, stood before him. At the end, glowed the green 'exit' sign. The hallway, while short, had been painted white and was well-lit. It even had white tiles underneath his feet. It wasn't quite 'hospital' grade, but could definitely pass off as 'science lab' of some kind. They had to have brought in a generator for those extra lights, as bright as they were.

Well, he took a step forward, towards the end. Not a bad ending, if he did say so himself.

Then the lights went out and Edward froze.

A couple of seconds and it came back on again. At the end of the hall stood a figure dressed in a black robe with a hood over its head. It also held death-like scythe in one hand. They definitely hadn't been there before.

Edward swallowed but again forced his frazzled nerves to calm. He went to take another step forward and the figure slowly lifted its head. The teacher couldn't help but gasp as the hood was _empty_... except for two red, glowing orbs.

And then the lights went out again.

Behind him, a loud thump sounded, causing him to jump. He whirled around, trying to see something in the dim light, but even when the hall lit up again, he could see nothing. The thumping continued, combined with groaning. That definitely wasn't Danny's voice. It sounded much higher. And older...

This was ridiculous. There was nothing but a _wall_ there.

Edward turned to the exit again. The figure was gone.

A voice whispered in his ear. "Oh, the poor dear. He chose wrong."

No one was there and he could have _sworn_ he'd felt a cold breath on his ear.

"He can join us," a second, deeper voice said on his other side.

Swallowing, Edward forced himself forward. He'd taken no more than three steps before the lights went out again. He froze again.

The lights came on, and the figure stood not a foot from him, scythe raised to cut him.

That was the first time Edward yelled out in surprise and fear. "_Something Wicked This Way Comes!_" he yelled. The scythe came barreling towards him – _phasing through the walls. _The teacher yelped again and fell backwards, but it wouldn't be enough and—

"Mr. Lancer!" Danny said, barreling past him in a rush of cold air as the transparent boy leaped forward and tackled the black figure. The scythe missed Edward by an inch. He could _feel _it as it rushed by.

He looked to see where Danny and the figure were struggling on the floor.

Danny looked back. "Run!" he said.

Edward didn't wait to argue. He rushed forward, leaping over the pair of them, side-stepping the scythe that had fallen, and rushed towards the exit. Had real ghosts infiltrated this?

No, he didn't believe in ghosts...

And yet..

His hand yanked on the door and, to his relief, it opened. He stumbled out into the dim hallway outside – a different door than the one he'd come in through – and slammed it shut behind him. Then he took several seconds to catch his breath.

Wait, if a ghost had been in there, he couldn't leave Daniel who... wait... something didn't add up...

"Well?" A new voice startled him, and he looked down to see Tucker Foley, his PDA out and a big grin on his face. "How did we do?"

Mr. Lancer blinked as he tried to wrap his head around the question.

"How did we do?" Tucker repeated.

As Edward continued to just stare, the boy sighed and tapped his ear, where a bright-green bulb that looked about half-way between an earring and a microphone sat.

"Alright, guys. That's a wrap for take one. Come out to see what kind of a grade we got."

Behind Edward, the door to the white hallway opened and five people spilled out into the hall. A skeleton, the woman in the 1950's dress, an older man in overalls, an older woman in an apron and Daniel Fenton himself, looking completely unscathed and very, very opaque.

Edward could only stare. They'd almost convinced him that it had been real.

He wanted to stutter for a bit, but he forced himself to relax (yet _again_) and then crossed his arms. "How did you do that?" he asked.

"Do what?" Danny asked innocently.

"The transparency."

Tucker snorted. "Have you watched Scooby Doo? The kind of equipment necessary to project someone like that has been around for _ages_."

Somehow, Mr. Lancer thought that Mr. Foley's definition of 'ages' was different than his own. So he turned to the woman in the dress. He squinted a bit. She looked familiar... but he couldn't place where he'd run into her before. He must have seen her around town or something.

"How about your zombie look, then?" he asked.

She blinked.

"It's a special makeup that's invisible until you see it in a certain light," the skeleton said, lifting up the mask to reveal Samantha Manson.

"I see," he said. "Then how about—"

"Mr. Lancer, are you going to try and ferret _all _of our secrets out of us?" Danny asked, looking a little annoyed. "We worked hard on this. Some of our secrets should stay that way – ours."

Edward frowned, then nodded, conceding the point.

"Very well."

"So, who won?" Samantha asked.

Edward blinked. He had been told in no uncertain terms to favor the sports teams... but the sheer work (and money) that had to have gone into that room...

"You," he said, perhaps a little grudgingly. The group cheered. That meant Dash would be serving detention and he'd have to explain why to the principal... and the superintendent. Bah.

Well...maybe not...

"Could you, perhaps, keep this up for a couple of days?" Mr. Lancer asked. "I'd like a couple of other people to see it, but it will likely be tomorrow night or the night after."

Danny blinked. "Um... sure, I guess. I can come back... Tuck? Sam?"

"Sure," Tucker said.

"I'll talk my parents into it," Sam affirmed.

Then Danny turned to the other three. "What about you, Mr. Beasley? Ms. Lunch?"

Lunch? Was that an actual name?

"Oh, why of course, dearie," the older woman said sweetly. "This was the most fun I've had in... a long time."

"I will as well!" the man in the overalls said in a very exaggerated voice.

Danny sighed. "Mr. Beasley, we talked about this."

The man huffed and turned his head, grumbling under his breath.

Finally, Danny turned to the 1950's woman. "What bout you, Dee?"

Must be an old family friend if Danny was on first-name basis. The woman looked a little uncomfortable.

"I... will see if I can."

Danny's face fell into something that looked almost menacing. "If Aragon gives you issues, let me know."

That took Edward back a bit. He'd never heard his normally rather quiet, if clumsy, student sound so… vitriolic.

The woman's eyes widened. "Oh, no S... er, Danny! That isn't necessary!"

Danny didn't look too happy, but he finally nodded. "Alright, then."

Edward really wasn't sure what to make of that interchange, so he did what he normally did and filed it away to think about later.

"Well, we'll be getting Ms. Tetslaff and her group here soon, so please prepare," the teacher finally said with a smile and went to wait at the door. He also made sure to bring out the recorder he'd bought specifically for this. He couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces.

It went over swimmingly. Even Tetslaff had to agree (rather grudgingly) that the rooms, especially Danny's, had been excellent.

Her word around town may or may not have been why there was a line to go into the house the next night when Edward brought the board of Education around.

Needless to say, Dash got the detention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: The DP universe is notoriously nasty when it comes to timelines. I've been keeping more or less to the timeline of how each episode aired so far, BUT I'm going to have to deviate a bit for a couple of reasons. 1. Halloween happens. There is only one Halloween episode (sad day) and it fits into my timeline here. Thus, we get a Halloween episode instead of Prisoners of Love… which happens in May. May 9th to be exact. SOOO we're definitely getting Ember and Cujo first… and we'll likely skip or glide over Christmas because A. we've already taken care of Ghostwriter and B. I refuse to believe their Christmas episode happens in their first year of school. Johnny and Kitty may be in there as well, although the equivalent of Teacher of the Year will likely be a bit later, either right before or right after Prisoner's of Love, and then we'll be getting the second half of season 1. Wulf and his story will depend heavily on PoL, but then we get more Johnny and Kitty, more Valerie, and we're likely going to completely skip Maternal Instincts altogether if Vlad sticks to his promise… I haven't decided whether he will yet or not. I'm leaning towards him keeping it… but that isn't necessarily all good either. Just saying. Million Dollar ghost will likely be similar… which worries me because now I have to figure out how to bring in the GIW and…
> 
> I'm babbling, aren't I. In any case, continuity goes downhill from there.
> 
> I haven't mentioned some ghosts that will be prominent. FYI. IE Spectra and Bertrand, Aragon (Dragon except with an A… why did I never get that before?), likely Youngblood, Amorpho, Far Frozen, Pandora, Undergrowth and Nocturn at some point (I still haven't brought Pointdexter into this either… huh). Almost all of the third season can be thrown out by now… Not that I'm complaining too much, though. ^^; ahem But I still want to bring in a lot of the universe's ghosts. If you feel I've forgotten something, please feel free to comment. Please and thank you!
> 
> And finally, I HAVE FANART! Oh, gosh, you guys don't know how happy that makes me! In any case thank you to Oriyart for this! **https://www.instagram.com/p/CEn3T16FMo7/ ** (You'll have to copy and paste it, sorry. Apparently hyperlinks are no longer a thing here. And if we can still use them, they certainly DON'T work for me.)
> 
> Check out discord.gg/zJQSDa8 for my Discord! I do live streaming once or twice a week and otherwise it's a fun place to just go and geek out/show support!


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